Black Suit Ladybug
by Macaroy
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng only wanted a normal teenage life while also keeping her city safe as the miraculous Ladybug. After her normal life takes a turn for the worst, Marinette reluctantly enlists the help of a mysterious Kwami named Nevie to help her balance the challenges of both her identities but will this change bring more harm than good? [LadyNoir Pairng] [weekly updates]
1. Chapter 1: No Other Choice

"So… Just like that? You're going to leave Paris?"

Only a true friend like Alya Césaire could have caused me this much heartbreak. Countless memories began surface in my mind. Even when it felt like nothing was going right in my crazy life, Alya was there for me. She always greeted me with a smile, always trusted me to share anything personal, and she received great entertainment out of spurring me on to chase after the love of my life: Adrian Agreste. Without her help, I still wouldn't be able to get two words out in front of him. Alya gave me the push to be a better person. She was my best friend for as long as I could remember.

But she was going to leave.

"I am sorry Marinette." Alya said as the crisp fall air passed through the park where we were standing, "My dad got laid off from his job. Paris is an expensive place to live… I think my family just needs somewhere more stable. At least for a little while."

Alya should have been the one who was upset. Even so, she wanted to make me feel better by staying calm about the whole situation. I wanted her to stay but I was afraid getting angry would only make Alya feel worse. I knew I needed to be understanding for her sake.

"I don't know what I am going to do without you Alya. I am going to miss you so much while you're gone. I know I said I hated phones before, but we'll call each other every day." I wanted to smile but the weight of emotions was too heavy for me to lift the corners of my mouth.

"You know it girl." Alya said with a melancholy expression on her face, "You said you had somewhere to be, so I won't hold you up. I just wanted to tell you the news as soon as I got it."

"Thank you Alya. We're always going to be besties no matter how far apart we are." I said, searching for silver lining.

Alya left me to stand motionless in the middle of the park. This was more than losing a friend, this was losing someone who put my life into balance. Alya had supported my personal life as well as my superhero life under the guise of Rena Rouge. Apart from my long-term partnership with Chat Noir, Alya was the only other person I could count on to keep Paris safe.

"Marinette, I am sorry about Alya but can we please hurry to Master Fu's place?" A weak voice called out from my pink purse.

I unzipped the bag to reveal a small red and black kwami lying on a bed of cosmetics, "I am so sorry Tikki! I'll hurry there!"

"I'll be fine." Tikki said in fatigue, "I just want to be able to let you transform into Ladybug if a supervillain appears."

I began to lightly jog through the city streets of Paris. I was so caught up with Alya's news I had forgotten about Tikki's recent illness. Master Fu entrusted me with taking care of her nearly a year ago. He was the person I came to in order to help guide me through my superhero life. I wished I could care of Tikki all by myself but I still needed Master Fu to teach me more.

I eventually approached the front door of ancient Chinese architecture. I knocked on the several times while talking out loud, "We're here Tikki. He'll probably give you some medicine and we'll be all set to go in a half hour just like last time."

The short figure of Master Fu opened the door. His grey hair was groomed nicely, he made sure his moustache and goatee reflected his dignified and wise interior. "Ah, it's just you Marinette. Please come in, I was just having supper.

I apologized for interrupting the master's evening and explained the situation with Tikki. I went through all of the details, starting with me waking up to the sound of Tikki's voice whimpering in pain in her sleep. I wanted to leave right away to visit Master Fu, but Tikki insisted that I take care of my errands first and that she would be fine.

Master Fu cradled Tikki in his cupped hands, "Marinette for the first time I am not exactly sure what is wrong with your kwami, but it isn't good. Not good at all." He said solemnly.

I drew a small gasp, "Not good at all? Is it serious!? Is Tikki dying!?" I panicked.

Master Fu slowly shook his head in a fluid motion, "No, no. Not that bad, but it may take my quite some time before I find out what is causing Tikki so much distress." He said in an effort to calm me down.

I relaxed my shoulders, "How long do you think it'll take?" I pondered, "What if I am needed as Ladybug while you are still trying to get Tikki back to good health?"

Master Fu moved around his house, gently laying Tikki on a pillow. "There is more than one miraculous user Marinette, perhaps you need to have faith that Chat Noir could handle the super heroics for the meantime." He said with an unwavering voice.

I trusted Chat Noir a lot, he had always done his upmost in order to keep Paris safe. Almost any other boy I could think of would have used the cat miraculous for their own selfish gain. Similar to me, Chat Noir never even considered that as a possibility. For an entire year he had been by my side to support me.

With that said, as capable as he was, Tikki was the only kwami who could capture akumas, the name for the evil butterflies that turn distressed men and women into super powered villains. Chat may be able to go toe-to-toe with a supervillain but there wasn't a way for him to them back to normal without my help.

"Master Fu, will Chat Noir really be able to handle things all by himself? You're sure about this?"

The old Chinese man let out a small chuckle, "Chat Noir is not alone. I will deliver both Queen Bee's and Rena Rouge's miraculous to them respectively. It isn't a perfect fix, but it will have to do for now."

I faltered for a moment after hearing Rena Rouge's name. I didn't want to make a habit of telling other people's secrets, but this was important. "Master Fu… About Rena…" I began. "She's not going to be around much longer. She is going to move out of the city very soon and the fox miraculous won't have a holder."

Despite breaking the news to the old man, Master Fu maintained his same composure, "A person of high principles is one who can watch an entire chess game without making a comment." He chimed.

"Master Fu, what are you talking about? I know these riddles are kind of your thing but I need some real genuine advice and not a vague proverb." I pleaded.

"If you cannot find the answers you seek on the outside, try to look within. You will figure out what to do with your friend as well as the fox miraculous in time. Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." Master Fu then took on a dismissive tone, "Now, you should get going Marinette, I will begin to heal Tikki right away. Expect to hear back from me in a few days, a week at most."

A week? I could hardly believe what Master Fu was telling me, but if Tikki was in a critical condition I wanted him to have as much time as he needed to make sure she was all better. I chose not to complain, "Thank you for helping Master Fu, I hope everything goes well." I called to him as I began to walk out of his home.

"Goodbye for now Marinette. Trust in Chat Noir."

I began to lament as I dragged my feet back to my home. I couldn't understand how Master Fu could have been so calm after hearing that Alya was leaving. Did he think she was replaceable? Alya was the single person I could trust with handling the responsibilities that came with holding a miraculous. I wondered if Master Fu would expect me to pick someone else to take her place after she moved away.

I shook my head. No way. He must have just had faith that I could figure things out and make sure everything would be okay. I had to think positively in order to solve big problems like these. I opened my front door and hummed a tune as I walked into the kitchen to greet my mom and dad.

I was going to use this week away from my superhero responsibilities to develop Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

My dad's brown moustache curled upwards with his smile, "Enjoying your weekend Marinette?"

I let out a small sigh, "I heard some bad news today. I thought maybe I could help you out in the bakery to take my mind off of things today."

My mother giggled as she turned to face me, "That's very kind of you Marinette, but you don't need to overexert yourself to help your dad and I. Especially when you aren't feeling well! Do you feel like sharing what's the matter?"

I began to wash my hands in the kitchen sink, "It's all going to be fine mom. I am just going to focus on the things I can change and not let the stuff I can't bother me."

"That's my girl!" my father gleamed. "Always turning negatives into positives and goes out of her way to help her folks too. How did I get so lucky to have such a great daughter?"

The three of us shared a laugh and began to bake. I didn't want to bring Alya up to my parents just yet. My mind was already running in circles with Tikki's absence. Master Fu told me to trust in Chat Noir but I couldn't stop worrying about him. I knew that I wouldn't be able to take down a supervillain all by myself and I wondered if Chat Noir thought the same.

No, probably not. He'd probably just assume his same goofy smile and say something silly like, "Don't worry Bugabee! I always try to be the best Chat I can be!"

I shuddered after I perfectly imagined Chat Noir speaking those exact words. I quickly began laying raw dough out on aluminum trays to try to block out my mental image of Chat's smug face. I liked him as a friend but he knew which of my buttons to push when I was in costume. He would call me any ridiculous pet names that entered his head. I was surprised the rest of Paris didn't call me 'Bugaboo' and 'M'lady' after hearing him toss those names around for the better part of a year. I wasn't any special exception of course, Chat Noir flirted with any girl he came across and generally did whatever he wanted. That was what irritated me the most. Being a superhero was so effortless to Chat Noir. Since the day he had received his miraculous, he had always been ready to jump into the fray while wearing a bright smile on his face. It took a lot of convincing from Tikki for me to eventually choose to use her power but Chat was a hero by nature.

"Marinette?" My mom placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned to meet her concerned face, "Is everything alright dear? You've been rolling the same dough with that rolling pin for the last couple of minutes."

I blinked. "Sorry mom, I guess I was just thinking about Chat Noir. You've seen him around haven't you? I am curious, what do you think about him, mom?" I asked, eager to take attention off of my strange behavior.

My mother placed her index finger on her chin in thought, "Let's see… I don't know a lot. He's Ladybug's boyfriend, right?"

"Absolutely not!" I said, almost alarmed that was the first thing that came to my mom's mind.

"Well, I am glad he's continuing to save Paris every day. I think Ladybug is great too of course, but she seems so serious all the time. I am happy that Chat tries to keep her in high spirits." My mom said with a wink.

I wanted to protest further. Chat Noir didn't tease me to make me feel better, he did it to mess with me. I was sure… As I was about to speak again, I heard the sound of glass shattering upstairs.

"That sounded like it came from your room Marinette!" My father exclaimed as he stood up straight, "Someone must have broken in!"

"I am sure it's nothing dad. Why don't you let me clean up whatever broke while you keep an eye on the pastries?" Ever since Master Fu gave me Tikki crime in Paris had reached a record low. The chances of a burglar breaking into my house in the daytime was close to zero.

My parents exchanged glances as I picked up a dust pan and moved towards my room. I slowly turned the nob on my door to reveal a broken picture frame on the ground surrounded by shattered glass.

As soon as the door was fully open, I could hear a voice call out to me, "You know, it is strange to keep a picture of a teen model on your desk. Makes you come off as obsessive."

The mysterious voice sounded effeminate with a Victorian English accent. My eyes darted around the room but I could not spot the trespasser. I closed the door behind me.

Best that I take care of this by myself without involving my parents.

"Who is there?" I asked, holding the dustpan in my hand like a weapon, "I really liked that picture you know. It isn't cool to snoop around other people's rooms."

"Ah, I am really sorry about that. I should have introduced myself earlier." I finally had traced the voice to its owner. A black kwami with white spots floated in the middle of my room. She looked remarkably similar to Tikki. "My name is Nevie. From what I understand your other kwami must be out of commission for the time being. I am here as her substitute."

I narrowed my eyes into a squint as I stared at Nevie with a skeptical look, "How do you know about Tikki?" I had at least a hundred other questions for the posh-speaking kwami but I focused on the most pressing first.

"Oh, I know because Chat Noir is being beaten by a supervillain and you're nowhere in sight." Nevie explained, sounding almost frustrated with the question itself.

I ran over to my computer and typed in the web address for the local news. "No, no, no! It's way too soon! Master Fu couldn't have possibly explained my situation to Chat yet! He's waiting for Ladybug!"

The computer screen loaded and I saw a live stream of Chat Noir fending off attacks from a shirtless supervillain. I leaned forward as I zoomed in to identity the villain. He looked like an eight-foot-tall surfer with blond locks, sunglasses, swim trunks and flip-flops. He was stabbing at Chat with a silver trident and didn't seem to be breaking a sweat during his onslaught.

I stared at the screen but I could hear Nevie speaking behind me, "You see Ladybug? He needs your help. Use my power just this one time in order to save him, I promise I won't do anything to harm you."

I tore myself away from the live stream and lowed myself to my knees to begin sweeping up the broken glass on my floor, "Sorry Nevie. I want to trust you but this is all way too sudden. I can't use you right after five minutes of meeting you. We are just going to hang tight and hope Chat can handle things." I meant my words. I had no idea how this kwami figured out where I lived or that Tikki was sick. Nevie didn't inspire much confidence in me.

"I should apologize. I didn't mean to put any pressure on you, I just wanted to help…" Nevie said remorsefully.

I finished sweeping the glass and stood up from the floor. The livestream was still playing on my computer. I wanted to look away and dispose of the broken picture frame but the screen forcefully pulled me back in. I needed to see what would happen if I couldn't be Ladybug.

The pixilated screen followed the villain's and Chat's fight closely. Chat Noir raised his metallic staff to parry a strike from the surfer's trident but the flimsy pole was knocked out of Chat's hands. He was beginning to buckle under the pressure of trying to manage fighting a supervillain alone. Rena Rouge was nowhere to be seen. Master Fu hadn't been able to pass off the fox miraculous yet.

I nearly dropped my dustpan when I saw Chat Noir's right ribcage get clipped by the edge of the trident. It was an inevitability that Chat would get injured, yet I was physically shaking after I saw Chat's blood stain Paris' sidewalk. After setting the broken glass on my desk, I wrapped my hands around the sides of my arms in an attempt to stop my trembling.

"Oh dear. Miss Ladybug, are you alright?" Nevie asked as she floated in front of my face.

I should have been fine. Chat and I both knew the risks of being heroes but watching him take such a visceral injury was overwhelming. I began to take deep breaths, but they only further raised my anxiety. Sitting in my room and choosing to do nothing was no longer an option.

I grit my teeth and looked Nevie in her eyes, "Do you promise me nothing bad will happen if you help me save Chat?"

Nevie seemed to radiate joy, "Ladybug. I swear on my life that I won't do anything but help you."

"Alright, so where is your miraculous? And what to do I say in order to make you jump into it?" I asked hastily, looking back towards my computer screen.

"The earrings you wear will work perfectly fine dear. In order to become Ladybug all you need to say is, 'Time to put the spots on, Nevie!' and you will transform." Nevie's tone of voice told me she was eager.

"Wait a minute." I retaliated, "You are going to use the same miraculous that was meant for Tikki? And why is your phrase so similar to the one I use to call her too?" I took a small step away from Nevie and began to nervously massage the back of my neck with my right hand.

Nevie sensed my second thoughts and was quick to dismiss them, "Miss Ladybug, it's going to take time to explain all of that, but my similarities to your old kwami are exactly what you need right now. Unlike Chat Noir, I can purify akumas and stop villains for good. My super power is called 'Lucky Break' and you'll understand how it works once you use it. There is no other way to stop that surfer villain. You are the only one who can do this Ladybug!"

Nevie was one red flag after another. If not for her colorless appearance, she looked identical to Tikki and was explicitly interested in substituting for her. She wanted to give me a super power I had never used before. One that I could easily misuse and end up hurting Chat more than helping him.

I closed my eyes, inhaling air through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. I may have had doubts about Nevie but there was at least one truth that she told me. I was the only person who could do this. Chat Noir was a strong person, but he was reckless too. I got a sinking feeling after I recollected seeing the fabric of his costume tear as the villain's trident grazed his abdomen. Running to ask Master Fu for help would take too long, Tikki was just as far away, and there wasn't any other superhero with the power to purify a villain's akuma.

I had to gamble on Nevie.

"Time to put the spots on, Nevie!" I cried as the black and white kwami was absorbed into my earrings. I stretched my appendages out wide and allowed a polka-dotted skin-tight outfit to form around my body. The suit notably matched the kwami it belonged to; my traditional colors were replaced with black and white. I could feel my hair changing with the new transformation as well, my pigtails began to grow in length, extending until the tips reached the square of my back.

I looked down at my hands to closer inspect the new costume. My movements felt lighter, as if gravity had loosened its grip over my body. I began to wave my hands around aimlessly to marvel at the new sensation.

As I was experiencing my moment of wonder, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. I felt sick to my stomach as I suddenly experienced a strange phenomenon. I could hear a voice call to me, the words seem to rattle through my entire body. I looked around my room frantically to find the source, but as the voice continued, it was evident whatever was trying to talk to me was coming from inside of myself. The feeling was unnerving and real. I believed I could reach out with my hand and touch the words being articulated.

 _ **Ladybug, I am so glad to be finally meeting you.**_


	2. Chapter 2: The Boy I Thought I Knew

"Who is there?" I asked quietly, careful not to draw the attention of my parents only a floor below me.

Silence.

I wondered if Nevie could have been the one speaking to me, but her voice sounded nothing like the one that I had just felt. The mysterious voice that called to me sounded cold and disconcerting, Nevie's voice was prim and proper. I shook my head, chalking up the phenomenon to something I must have just imagined.

I was wasting time. I needed to get to Chat Noir and fast. I jumped out of my bedroom window and began to swing across Paris using a black version of the magic yo-yo I was familiar with my normal costume. As I soared through the air, I began to feel weightless, as I did when I first put on the suit. I wasn't just swinging through Paris, I was ripping through the air itself. To the pedestrians below me, I must have looked like a black blur.

This wasn't just a good day, this was Nevie allowing me to move this quickly. I began to wonder if Chat's kwami also assisted his physical ability the whole time that I knew him.

I didn't have any more time to ponder my newfound speed. I could already make out the large figure of the surfer villain squaring off with an injured Chat Noir who was clutching his right side as onlookers watched the fight in horror.

I caught the supervillain unaware as I swung directly into him, sticking my left leg out to plant it against his bare chest. I had anticipated the flying kick to merely knock him off of his feet, but my incredible velocity paired with my new strength sent the villain hurdling through the air until he crashed through a nearby building.

I wasted no time as I ran over to Chat, "I am so sorry, this is all my fault! I am such a useless partner!" I looked down to Chat's wound that he kept covered with his hand.

"Don't worry M'lady, for you I would fight a hundred villains. Also, I like the new look, is that something you're going to keep?" He asked with a smirk.

I could see the pain underneath his smile. He was trying to make me feel better but seeing him pretending nothing was wrong only fueled my guilt. "I am going to take care of this villain and then I am going to take care of you, just give me a minute Chat."

"Be careful Ladybug." Chat forewarned, "He is a lot stronger than the other akumas. I still can use cataclysm if you need me to."

Cataclysm was the power that allowed the holder of the Cat miraculous to destroy any object that they touched. It was invaluable to taking down every akuma before, but I still had no idea what my own superpower did. It would be nearly impossible to make a plan with such little information.

"Yo, that really wasn't chill broski. The name is Surfer Bro and you're really killin' my vibe." The surfer had regained his bearings enough to re-emerge from the hole he made in the building that he had just collided with. Undaunted, Surfer Bro walked straight towards Chat Noir and I.

I defensively walked towards the supervillain while I overheard the civilian spectators begin to clamor about the new suit I was wearing. I started to feel uneasy. All the people who were watching me were unaware that I didn't know what my superpower was, or that I had no plan to defeat this villain. The stress of the situation turned my mind into hot soup.

Wait. What were the magic words to use my power again?

I broke out in a small sweat. It's fine. Just have to remember those two words again. The first was the same as Tikki's… Lucky… Lucky something… What was it?

"You aren't lookin' so tough now aren'tcha'?" Surfer Bro threw his shades off of his face to size me up, "So are you the real Ladybug or what? Cuz' like, I totally need to grab that miraculous from you if you are dude."

I began to mutter to myself in an effort to jog my memory, "Lucky, Lucky, Lucky…. Lucky Strike? No, no. that's not it…"

The villain was only five feet away from me. It was easy for him to raise his trident to my chest, "So are you the real deal or what? Hurry up and answer or I'll like, you know, take your miraculous anyways…"

"Lucky break!" I raised my hand up in the air with my palm facing the super villain. I started to count down from five on my fingers. It took me a minute to realize what I was actually doing. Nevie was right, I felt like I could use this power off of instinct, as soon as I spoke the words I knew how it functioned.

The surfer was complacent, he pulled his trident away from me and folded his arms in front of his chest, "Alright, let's see what your big trick is. I bet it wasn't even worth the tro-"

I counted down to zero and once I made a fist with my hand the surfer was instantaneously changed back to normal. He shrank three feet as a business suit appeared to cover up his body. His golden locks retreated back into his scalp and muscles seemed to also fade as well. His face gave the impression he was completely oblivious to what just happened.

More importantly, the trident in his hands evaporated into thin air. From its remains flew a white butterfly, signifying the purification of the akuma. I blinked several times to make sure what I was seeing was even real. Lucky Break seemed to have completely de-evilized the villain and stopped him in his tracks only after five seconds.

"Bye-bye little butterfly." I said in quiet confusion.

The civilians gathered around and erupted into exciting cheering. They were as stunned as I was. Maybe this was why Nevie was so insistent that I used her. She must have known how easy it would have been for me to stop Surfer Bro.

With Tikki, I was able to repair any damage that I supervillain caused by speaking the magic words, 'Miraculous Ladybug!' however, it seemed that Nevie didn't share the same utility. The crowd of people around me curiously looked at me as I tried many different phrases to try to repair the damage that I had caused to the city, but to no avail.

One of the civilians spoke out to reassure me, "We can repair the building Ladybug, you don't need to worry about it."

"Thank you." I replied in the commenter's direction. As much as I wanted to stay, I knew I didn't have much time left before I needed to transform back. I pushed through the crowd of people to eventually reach a kneeling Chat Noir.

The blonde hero looked perplexed, "Ladybug, how did you just do that? That was incredible!"

I understood Chat's reaction, but I was pressed for time. I began to move Chat's left arm around my shoulder. "Come on kitty, you're still bleeding. I know where I can help you."

"Shouldn't I just go to a hospital?" Chat inquired.

"If you go there as a superhero, they will want to unmask you and if you go there in your regular form how are you going to explain a cut that big?" I didn't wait for his response. I flicked my magic yo-yo to a nearby building, getting ready to swing through the city while holding on to the injured Chat. This was my fault, and it was my responsibility to make sure he was taken care of.

We were already airborne when Chat gave his answer, "I'll just say I fell down the stairs or something! Ladybug, you don't need to do this. Especially now when you're about to transform back."

I rolled my eyes, "Chat, that's the worst and most cliché story you could possibly go with."

"You're right. I guess what I am trying to say is that you shouldn't have to feel like you need to help, but you do anyways." Chat rested his head on my shoulder, "I guess that's what makes you so wonderful M'lady." He purred.

I couldn't discern whether Chat was teasing me again or genuinely trying to make me feel better. I reminisced about a time when Adrian Agreste held an umbrella over my head during a particularly rainy day. People like him deserved Chat's praise, not me.

Chat and I landed on the familiar rooftop of my school, Collège Françoise Dupont. I knew that the building would be empty on a weekend and I would be able to take a first aid kit from the nurse's office without anyone fussing over a superhero running around the place.

"Stay here Chat, I will be right back." I instructed as I leaned him against the perimeter of the roof.

Chat gave me a nod, prompting me to begin to run into the building. As I moved through the hallways I noticed that my earrings hadn't flashed a single time yet. Several minutes had passed but I saw no signs of transforming back to normal. I wondered if Nevie was purposefully making sure I had enough time to help Chat.

I was thankful to retrieve a first aid kit undetected. I backtracked my way to the roof where Chat had waited patiently.

"Is this where you go to school Ladybug?" He asked hopefully.

I kneeled beside Chat in order to better inspect his condition. "You know I can't answer that even I wanted to Kitty. We can't know anything about each other, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Chat's green eyes moved away from mine as I rested a hand on his stomach, "Will you at least tell why you look different today? Or how you stopped that villain from earlier?"

I was comfortable with keeping Chat Noir in the dark when it came to a lot of things, but I decided to tell him all about the new kwami that approached me during Surfer Bro's attack. I kept the details vague enough so he wouldn't have any hints to my identity, but I began to lose my train of thought when I realized that this was the closest I had ever been to a boy. I only leaned over him to examine the cut on his right side but even through his leather suit I could feel Chat's abs gently rise and fall with each breath he took. I began to trace the muscles with my finger. I knew there wasn't any way that it was common for someone the same age as Chat and I would be this athletic. I began to imagine the hours of time Chat must have spent each day in order to develop his body to reach the point it was at now. He acted silly and carefree but he was completely dedicated. Master Fu was right when he told me that I should trust him.

"H-hey Ladybug?" I looked up from Chat's stomach to see that his face was now red as a fire engine, "A-are you going to do something with the first aid kit or…?"

I wasn't as subtle as I thought. I stopped explaining how I got my black suit for a while and simply sat beside Chat allowing my hands to ice skate over his abs in complete silence. I began to feel my head begin to rush with embarrassment as I frantically dug through the first aid kit.

"Oh! Sorry! You aren't still in a lot of pain are you!?" I practically yelled, trying to shove the conversation away from my bizarre behavior.

"I-I'm fine." Chat said, still settling down.

I soaked a cotton ball with disinfectant and allowed myself to touch Chat Noir's bare skin to run the ball along his deep cut. "This is going to hurt a little. I am sorry Chat."

"Don't worry about me M'lady." He said with a cool calmness to his voice.

I repeated the steps that my mom and dad had taught me when I ever got hurt. I was so clumsy that I would end up constantly pricking my finger from knitting or scraping my knees after falling off of my feet. Every time my parents would apply the Neosporin on my cuts I would squirm from the pain but Chat didn't move or make a noise as I dressed his wound.

"Where did you get so strong Chat?" I wondered out loud.

I didn't expect an answer, but after several moments Chat Noir replied, "My mother taught me how to keep a smile on my face when things started to feel rough. Without her, I probably wouldn't have ever used my miraculous in the first place."

I felt a warm feeling in my chest, "That's a sweet thing to say." I was the one in a different outfit, but for as long as Chat and I have been partners, I had never seen this side of him before. He came off as annoying when we were battling akumas, but sitting on a rooftop like this and hearing him speak so earnestly about his mom made me start to think I had the wrong idea about him this whole time.

"Are you starting to fall for me Bugaboo? I can see a look in your eyes." Chat said coyly with a stupid grin on his face.

"Not a chance kitty." I said, irritated that Chat reverted back into his old demeanor. I handed the cat a roll of gauze. "I will let you transform back to normal so you can wrap this around yourself. Make sure no one sees it, alright?"

Chat took the roll into his hand, "Got it. I bet people are starting to wonder where I am. Thanks again for everything Ladybug. I hope your old kwami gets well soon."

I nodded to Chat, "Bug out." I returned the first aid kit back to the nurse's office and still retained my black suit. I swung through the city with my enhanced speed. While the fight with Surfer Dude was quick, tending to Chat certainly slowed me down. It must had been nearly a half hour since I left my parents in the bakery and they were probably sick with worry.

I landed on my rooftop with an unintentionally loud 'thud.' I wasn't used to moving this quickly.

"Time to take the spots off Nevie." I said, presuming it would be the phrase needed to return back to normal.

Nevie flew out of my earrings as I begin to change back into my normal self. My pigtails had reverted to their short length, I looked down to see my suit replaced with a dark gray blazer and a white shirt. After the black had completely de-materialized I felt as if I gained twenty pounds all at once. I instinctively slouched over as I felt my superpowers leave me.

"You did great Ladybug! I told you everything would work out! That was awesome!" Nevie was flying in circles above my head in hyperactive excitement.

I rested my palm on my forehead for a spell to regain my bearings. When I was with Tikki there was hardly felt any difference between my two identities but after my experience with the black suit I was out of sorts.

"Hang on a second Nevie." I said as I stood up straight. "You told me you'd explain everything after we helped Chat Noir. I am really glad you helped us both but I still have so many questions."

Nevie descended down to my eye-level, "Why of course Ladybug. Anything you want to know in particular?"

I furrowed my brow. There was a storm of questions brewing in my mind but I kept them brief to not overwhelm Nevie. "Why do you look so similar to Tikki? Why has Master Fu never told me about you before?"

Nevie was collected and she answered with an almost tranquil air to her, "I am sure you're already aware that kwamis like me are born out of emotion. I may look young but I have actually been on earth for many thousands of years. I am the kwami of inspiration, I take the appearance of anyone I take inspiration from. You Ladybug, are the greatest miraculous holder I have ever seen. It makes perfect sense that I would model after you."

I couldn't hold back a smile as Nevie's posh accent gushed all over my alter-ego. No one else knew I was Ladybug besides Master Fu and Tikki. I was almost never recognized in this way for the hard work I needed to put in while I was in costume.

"As for why no one has told you about me." Nevie continued in her English accent, "There is no way that one person would be able to find all of the kwami in the world. Such a task would prove impossible. There are many kwami like me. I can understand your skepticism but I only want to help you Ladybug." Nevie finished plainly.

Master Fu being completely in the dark to Nevie's existence was incredibly unlikely. All kwami were born out of an emotion but each instance was recorded into the miraculous spellbook, which Master Fu had already read thoroughly. Master Fu must have not been aware that Nevie would be able to help me while Tikki was incapacitated. Considering that Nevie took on different appearances, Master Fu simply must have thought it was important to know about her. I decided to ask another question.

"I was wondering about transforming. Normally when I or Chat Noir use our superpower, we only have five minutes until we transform back to normal. Is there a reason you were able to keep me in that black suit for a much longer period of time?"

Nevie gave me a casual shrug, "It's something I've always been able to do. Helping people spurs me on, no snack break can stop me from making a difference. I will remain strong for as long as you need me."

The black ladybug kwami seemed to bend every rule that every other kwami needed to follow. She was an anomaly that I couldn't quite understand, even with her explanations. "Your power then. What is it exactly? Why was I able to understand how to use it immediately?"

Nevie rested her small hands behind her large head. I expected my interrogation to put her off, but on the contrary, Nevie seemed content with answering each question, "It's quite an easy power to use. Lucky Break is the power to eradicate evil. You look in someone's eyes for five seconds and after you finish counting, the akuma should leave their body. I think you're such an experienced superhero that understanding your powers is second-nature."

I was unconvinced by Nevie's reassurance but I had to face the facts. When I was in my room, I felt helpless watching the livestream of Chat Noir getting hurt. Without Nevie's help, I wasn't sure what would have happened to him. The idea of fully trusting a kwami that showed up at my doorstep made me uneasy, but I felt ungrateful to be cross-examining her like I was. I didn't want to regret pushing her too far.

"Just one more question." I conditioned, "How did you learn that I was Ladybug?"

"I am sorry Miss Ladybug… I am really not comfortable answering that question." Nevie said, her manner faltering.

"I can't let this go Nevie. Tell me, how did you find out that I am Ladybug?" I pressed.

"I am sorry… I followed you after you stopped a villain." Nevie admitted, "I was curious… I wanted to know who Paris' true hero was. To appreciate her in her entirety. Please, do not hate me."

I didn't know what I expected Nevie to say. Hearing her openly admit to violating my privacy and seeking out my greatest kept secret without even speaking to me put me on my guard. "I can understand why you'd do something like that, but please Nevie, do not do anything like that again. Chat Noir, Queen Bee and especially Rena Rouge deserve at least that much respect."

Nevie looked away sheepishly, "Yes, of course Ladybug. I am so awfully sorry." The spotted kwami seemed to be on the verge of tears, "D-does this mean you don't want to have me around anymore?" She said with a sniffle.

I bit my tongue. I couldn't trust Nevie but Master Fu said that Tikki could be sick for an entire week. Having a kwami around at least gave me the option to become Ladybug in case of an emergency. Treading carefully was the best course of action.

"No, of course I want you around." I said trying cheer Nevie up, "You helped me today, I may not like the idea of you stalking me but thanks to you Chat Noir is safe and that's what is most important. I am glad to keep you by my side, at least until Tikki feels better."

Nevie collected herself once more, "Oh thank you Ladybug! I simply know you won't regret your decision! I am overjoyed that I will get to spend more time with you!"

I nodded my head. For the time being at least, it looked like Nevie would be my replacement kwami. Suspicions still floated in my mind as to why she was so insistent on helping me. Something didn't sit right with me about my whole situation yet I was still willing to give Nevie a chance to quiet my doubts.


	3. Chapter 3: Life as Marinette

I woke up to the peculiar discovery that overnight my arms and legs had been replaced with solid lead. I hadn't felt this fatigued since the first day I met Tikki. It was a miracle that I even managed to sleepwalk my way to my colorfully decorated class on time. I knew that performing well in school and stopping supervillains would always be difficult but as I rested my head on my desk I began to remember all of the countless times school needed to take a backseat to Hawkmoth. I constantly showed up late, forgot homework assignments and performed poorly on tests. If I had any other teacher besides Mrs. Bustier, I would certainly already be failing by now.

I didn't even have the strength to raise my head from the table when Alya's face entered my field of view, "Hey girl! Looks like someone was up all night reading the Ladyblog. Did you see all the stuff I posted last night?" Alya exclaimed so loudly.

"Oh… Right." I wearily raised my head to sit up straight, "I saw that Ladybug had a new outfit the other day, the black one, right?"

I feigned ignorance. Alya had gained a lot of notoriety as the editor of the Ladyblog, a website made to document my superhero life. It was miraculous that I had convinced Alya that Ladybug and I were two separate people.

The classroom buzzed with excitement. Everyone was curious to Ladybug's change in wardrobe and even the quieter members of the class began to speculate out loud.

"I bet Ladybug wanted to blend in better when she's chasing down supervillains at night!"

"Did you see her new superpower? The suit must make her even stronger than normal."

"I think she just likes the color black."

I couldn't hold back a smile. The amount of attention made me feel warm inside. Changing my suit from red and black to black and white was so minor, but the interest around it showed me that people truly cared about Ladybug.

"What do you think Alya?" I said, returning my attention to the friend who sat beside me, "You know more about Ladybug than anyone. Any ideas on why she'd change her suit?"

I asked my question at the wrong time. As Alya opened her mouth to speak, the infamous Chloe Bourgeois had asserted herself into the classroom. The blonde scowled at me through her thick makeup and eye shadow. Her bright yellow jacket and white shirt contrasted with her dark personality.

"Isn't it obvious? She's trying to be more like her best friend Queen Bee!" Chloe said unironically.

I grimaced. I was most certainly not Queen Bee's best friend. "That doesn't even make sense Chloe." I said rolling my eyes, "Queen Bee only has a few black stripes on her suit. It isn't like they're going to match…"

"Whatever." Chloe said flippantly, "What do you know about Ladybug anyways?"

Radiance projected from the doorframe as Adrian Agreste entered the room. It wasn't only his exceptional good looks that turned the heads of each of the students in class. It was the way Adrian carried himself. With each step the model was even more graceful, modest and genuine. My body began to involuntarily swoon as he ran his fingers through his silken blonde hair. Not even the covers of magazines could capture Adrian's essence. He gave me a serenity that no one else could. The rest of the day I may as well been sleepwalking, but now, seeing Adrian again had lifted me from my slumber.

"Chloe, do you really have to be so loud? Ladybug just changed her suit, she's still the same person underneath." Adrian said with a gentle calmness.

"Marinette, I understand why you would want to stare, but seriously girl, do you really have to keep your mouth open too?"

Alya had snapped me back into reality as I covered my mouth. "I didn't make it too obvious, right?" I whispered back, "Do you think Adrian knows?"

Alya sighed and replied to my whisper with normal volume, "If Adrian doesn't know you like him by now, he'd have to be the most clueless person on planet earth."

I slapped my hand over my forehead, "You're right…" An awkward pause fell between Alya and I before we both broke out into laughter.

These were the sorts of moments that I would miss the most after Alya left Paris.

"Let's go to that new restaurant that opened up later tonight." I suggested with a smile.

Alya raised a brow, "Are you sure? It's a school night after all."

I nodded my head, "Alya, we don't have much longer until you move, we should try to make these last days in Paris special."

Alya reached her arms out to wrap me in a tight hug, "What did I do to deserve such a good friend? You're the best Marinette" she chimed.

After a couple more minutes, Mrs. Bustier finally made her way into the classroom. The teacher was normally well-composed but her reddish-orangish hair began to come loose from the bun that she normally sported. Several beads of sweat also formed on her face as she looked between the faces in the classroom.

Mrs. Bustier was still catching her breath as she addressed us, "I am sorry for starting late class, I really didn't expect to be so tied up this morning. Although we should be getting into the lesson plan, I want to start the day off properly with an exercise. Each of you, please pick one person from the class and say something nice about them."

I began to day dream as the class passed compliments back and forth. I was worried about Tikki and Master Fu. After all, Master Fu said he wasn't sure what was wrong with Tikki in the first place, had he found out what was causing her ailment yet?

I rubbed my temples. I wondered if Chat Noir was feeling better from yesterday. With any luck, our arch-nemesis Hawkmoth won't produce any more akumas to chase down before Tikki makes her recovery. That thought may have been too optimistic though.

"Marinette."

"Wha-!?" I stood up from my seat suddenly to realize that Mrs. Bustier was calling my name and the whole class was staring right at me.

"Your turn Marinette, who would you like to give your kind words to?" Mrs. Bustier said, practically shining a spotlight on me.

My eyes zipped around the room and stopped on Adrian. After a few seconds of eye contact I looked away quickly as I started to feel my face burning up. I didn't want to come off as weird, I knew that I should say something safe and pass this exercise along to the next person.

I looked over my shoulder and found reassurance in Alya, "I think that Alya has always been-"

Mrs. Bustier stopped me from going further, "Nino already gave Alya a compliment, I am sure there is someone else you can pick."

I was overwhelmed. I was standing in the middle of the room while I fumbled my words. I should have just said something about Adrian before, but now it would be weird after I hesitated for so long. I decided to scan the room one more time but the peer pressure was stopping me from thinking clearly.

In the middle of my crisis, I started to feel something. The muscles in my neck began to tighten while the rest of my body shivered. My blood went cold as I once again felt the familiar words of a voice that lived inside of me.

 _ **Stop being afraid.**_

"Ahh! Ahh! I think Adrian looks really great today!"

It took me a moment to register what I just said. Adrian smiled at me from the front row. "Thanks Marinette, you look good today too."

I didn't have the chance to appreciate Adrian's compliment. I was still reeling from my strange phenomenon. I realized that it was a mistake to dismiss what I heard when I first used Nevie to put on my black suit. I started to feel scared. I truly was hearing voices.

Mrs. Bustier noticed my introspection, "Is everything alright Marinette? You don't look well."

"I'm just going to go to the bathroom for a second." I said, excusing myself.

"Take as much time as you need." Mrs. Bustier said with concern.

I stepped out into the hallways. There were very few windows to give the sullen hallways any light. Thankfully, there weren't any students in sight so I felt no need to hide Nevie as she floated out of my jacket pocket and began to float alongside me.

"What's the matter Ladybug? Did you want to transform?"

"No, listen Nevie, I've been hearing voices, first when I used your power and just now too."

"Oh dear!" Nevie shrilled, "Ladybug, you haven't gone mad, have you? You seemed very healthy when we first met!"

"Wait, so you aren't the one who was talking to me?" I said in surprise.

"It's alright Ladybug, we can get you counseling!"

I frowned, "I am not crazy Nevie, sheesh."

"That is exactly what a crazy person would say." Nevie said in a matter-of-fact manner.

Down the hall I heard a door open. I quickly snatched Nevie out of the air, stuffed her into my pocket and ducked into the women's restroom. It was a close call, but Nevie was undetected.

"You've piqued my interest Ladybug." Nevie said as she floated out of my pocket, "Why are you so afraid of people figuring out that you're a superhero? If it were up to me, I think I would go ahead and tell everyone."

It was a reasonable question. Tikki urged me to keep her existence a secret from the first day that I met her. It didn't take me long to understand why.

"It's because I have my own life to live too. I am studying hard because I want to be a fashion designer when I grow up. I have my parents who would be worried about me if they knew that I was Ladybug. Hawkmoth may also start to go after my close friends if he knew as well. Letting people know who I really am would be nice in some respects, but it's important that I keep my identities separate."

Nevie gave me an unconvinced expression, "That boy you said looked nice. He was the same person you had pictures of in your room. Would it be so bad if only he knew? Darling, he would fall head over heels for you in a heartbeat."

"Not even him." I was quick to answer, but after a moment I began started to rationalize further, "Besides, he'll probably just be disappointed it's someone as lame as me anyways."

"Come on Ladybug no one is going to-"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone else open the bathroom door, and like before, I hid Nevie away into my pocket, stopping her mid-sentence. I turned to face the livid glare of Chloe Bourgeois who had followed me from the classroom.

"Hey Chloe, I think that only one person can be out of the class at a time so I'll just head back to the classroom now."

I tried to walk past Chloe but she only folded her arms in front of her chest and stood firmly between me and the door, "Were you practicing your pickup lines or something?" Chloe said callously.

Chloe must have heard me talking with Nevie. "I don't know what you're talking about." I said.

"Yes, you do." Chloe hissed, "You thought you were going to be all cute with Adrian, but guess what? Adrikins and I have known each other since we were kids, so you don't have a chance with him, capiche?"

Nevie started to pipe up from inside my jacket, "How dare you say such-!"

I slapped my hand over my chest, once again cutting Nevie off. Seemed like my explanation for why no one could see her went over Nevie's head.

"What did you just say?" Chloe accused as she tilted her head slightly.

"Uhh… Nothing! I gotta go Chloe, sorry!" I needed to get out of this situation before Nevie exposed herself. I gently pushed past Chloe and broke out into a run as I opened the bathroom door and sped towards my classroom.

"Hey! I am not finished talking with you yet!" Chloe yelled from behind me.

I didn't look back to Chloe as I re-entered the classroom. Mrs. Bustier was already beginning her lecture. When I reached my seat, Alya had slid a note in front of me.

I picked up the piece of paper, "Hey, are you feeling okay?" it read.

I wrote her a note back, "I'm fine, I'll tell you about it later."

I was grateful that class continued as normal. More often than not, an akuma would attack during school hours and I would have to miss a part of class almost every other day. I wondered if Mrs. Bustier thought that I was a lazy student and then I thought back to what Nevie said about my secret identity. It would be nice to let at least a couple people in on my secret, just so people could at least _understand_ why I was the way that I was.

But that would never happen. No one could find out who I really am. No one.

Mrs. Bustier clapped her hands together. "Alright class, that will be it for today's lesson, remember that you all bring proper running attire for the school-wide five kilometer run tomorrow morning and I'll be looking forward to seeing you all again tomorrow!"

I let out a groan. Despite running all over Paris as Ladybug, I dreaded running as Marinette. I was already exhausted during class, even thinking about running five kilometers made me want to lie down on the ground.

I turned towards Alya, "We're going to run slow together right? I think having you for company is the only way I am going to finish this race."

While all the other students were funneling out of the classroom, Chloe made a b-line towards Alya and I's table and slapped her palm down on the desk. "Of course you'll be running slow, you make it sound like you could even run fast." Chloe remarked venomously.

"What is your problem Chloe?" Alya snapped back. "Also, didn't you walk the entire five kilometers last year? It's pretty ironic hearing you call us slow."

Chloe seemed to be caught off-guard by Alya observation, "Yeah well… There is a difference between being bad and not even trying!"

I stood up and threw my backpack over my shoulder. I knew this was still about Adrian after all, if I just ignored Chloe, she would probably stop her whining. I also wanted Alya's last memories to not include getting into a shouting match with Chloe.

Chloe tried to pull me back into her argument, "Hey where do you think you're going!?" she placed her dainty hand on my shoulder.

"I'll see you later tonight Alya!" I brushed Chloe's hand off my shoulder and briskly began to jog through the dark hallways to make sure Chloe didn't trail me.

It didn't take me a very long time before I reached my house which always smelled like cinnamon on Mondays. When I opened the front door, I was greeted with a large beige couch to lay on. I curled up, pressing my knees against my chest, holding them with each of my hands. The house was almost always warm with the ovens constantly running on a high temperature, the atmosphere was so soothing, I could easily fall asleep if I wasn't careful.

I started to think back to the conversation Nevie and I had earlier. How would people react if I revealed that I was the Ladybug? They would certainly treat me differently but in what ways? Chloe may stop bothering me, but there was an equal chance that I'd only be a bigger target. Alya has an entire blog on Ladybug, I felt that giving up my secret would mean that Alya would treat me like her favorite superhero and less like her friend. Then there was Adrian. Whether or not he knew, I couldn't get two words out without sounding like I was gargling marbles. It probably didn't matter, Adrian would never see me as anything more than an awkward friend. Maybe there was some truth to what Chloe told me earlier.

"Marinette, is there something wrong? You seem to be upset."

I opened my eyes to see my mom standing over me, gently nudging my shoulder. There wasn't as much light coming through the windows and it didn't take me long to deduce that I had fallen asleep as I predicted. "Quick! Mom!" I exclaimed, sitting up from the couch, "What time is it right now?"

"It's six o'clock sweetie, I am about to start dinner soon." My mom said with a confused tone.

"I am going to go out with Alya tonight." I explained, "No need to make any dinner for me, I should really go now though, I did not mean to fall asleep!"

My mom looked let down, "I haven't even asked you how your day was yet… You really have to go right now?"

"It was fine mom, just a normal day at school that's all." I let out a nervous laugh, "Please, I'll catch up with you and dad later, but I already promised Alya that I'd go to that new Chinese restaurant tonight."

My mom conceded with a smile, "Wait right here, I'll give you some money before you go."

It was jarring watching my mom go from being heartbroken to being so generous so quickly, "You sure it's alright Mom?"

"I heard about Alya's father." She replied softly as he handed me twenty euros. "That's what was bothering you yesterday wasn't it? You go have fun tonight, just be sure to spend some time at home later though. I feel like I hardly see you anymore Marinette." My mom gave me a hug.

I embraced my mom back. She was right, after all, I was constantly patrolling the city as Ladybug. I was glad that my parents gave me enough autonomy to stop akumas when I needed to, but that also meant that I didn't spend as much time with my mom and dad as much as I wanted to.

"I'll hurry home." I promised.

I walked out the door and began to head towards Heise Xiehu, a Chinese restaurant that had only opened a week ago. In Paris, competition between restaurants was stiff. Anything below spectacular would quickly be replaced by a new up-and-coming business. I didn't come to these sorts of places often, but I depend on Alya for years, I wanted to go someplace nice.

When I finally arrived at Heise Xiehu, I marveled at its ambiance. The lights were low, and the tables were made from ebony oak. The ceiling had ornate designs of dragons, as if they were flying over the heads of all the other patrons.

Alya was already seated and waved me down, "Hey, over here Marinette!"

"Hey there Alya, sorry I am so late, I got a little caught up with things." I said, nervously sitting down.

"Caught up with things? You look like you just got out of bed." Alya teased.

Alya and I instantly fell back into our familiar friendly conversation. It was so seamless and easy to feel comfortable around Alya and that was something that other friendships lacked. Alya was an open-minded person, she was a good of a talker as she was a listener, she made ordinary topics feel fun and was humble enough to make someone think that they were just as interesting. Above all, she was trustworthy, I relied on her more than anyone else.

"So, what happened earlier at school today? Are you still really that nervous to talk with Adrian?" Alya asked.

I scratched the back of my head meekly, "I don't think I am going to ever get over it Alya. I turn into a puddle of goo when I am around him, and how can I not? He's perfect, and I'm well… Me." I sank into my seat, "Chloe told me as much after I went to the bathroom."

Alya balled her hands into fists, "Chloe makes me so mad sometimes! She goes out of her way to ruin everyone else's day, it's so messed up!"

"I know what you mean, when she started screaming about the run tomorrow, I couldn't take any more of it, I just had to tune her out." I said with a small sigh.

"About the run tomorrow. Why don't we try our best? Maybe we won't end up running the same pace, but I want to show Chloe that she's wrong." Alya seemed determined.

Running over three miles was already an achievement in my mind. Running it as fast as possible would be brutal and grueling. "Are you sure? It's not like we get anything if we run it faster and besides, Chloe will still end up finding something else to prod us with."

There was a fire in Alya's eyes, "Not this time Marinette. I don't want Chloe to win this argument. She said that she never tried to run seriously but guess what? I am not afraid to give it my all. What do you say Marinette? Should we show Chloe up together?"

I drummed my fingers on the table to stall. It was a big ask, but it wasn't every day that Alya asked me for a favor like this. I didn't think tiring ourselves out would prove anything to Chloe but seeing Alya get so passionate over something as mundane as running convinced me. "Alright. I'll try to run as fast as I can tomorrow. I promise."

The evening continued as our food was served, we ate to our heart's content and I paid the check for both of us. It was a very fun evening, but unfortunately, that only made the reality of her leaving even more painful to think about. I walked with Alya to her house, where I said goodbye until the next morning.

The sun was completely absent from the sky as I began to walk home. Apart from the headlights of passing cars, I didn't have any light to see where I was going. I stopped walking suddenly. I couldn't explain how but I knew I was being watched. I had Nevie with me but transforming in front of anyone, good or bad wasn't a wise idea. I started to hyperventilate as I flicked my head back and forth across the city street, but I couldn't see anyone.

"What are you doing out so late Marinette? It's not a good idea for a cute girl to be out all alone at a time like this."

The voice came from above me. Startled, I looked up to see Chat Noir laying in a tree that lined the sidewalk.

"What's the matter?" he said slyly, "Never saw a Chat stuck in a tree before?"

Under normal circumstances I would tell him that his creepy staring scared me and that his pun made me cringe, but these were not normal circumstances. I was Marinette not Ladybug, I had to do my best to not tip Chat Noir off.

I let out in insatiable giggle, "Oh Chat Noir! You're so funny! Wow! I can't believe I ran into you tonight! I must be the luckiest girl in the world!" I said, lazily throwing a hand over my forehead as if I were about to feint.

Chat jumped down from the tree, "Well I would say so, I'd say so, you're lucky to not run into any danger out her this late." Chat put his hand by his side and offered it to me to hold on to, "Here, why don't I walk you home Miss?"

I wrapped my arms around Chat's. For as goofy and weird as Chat Noir acted most of the time, every once in a while, he did have his moments, "Thank you Chat Noir, you're my hero."


	4. Chapter 4: No Matter What it Takes

The stars had begun to come out as Chat and I walked through the streets of Paris together. I had encountered the cat-like superhero several times as Marinette before and while there was some familiarity between us, I had to be careful not to overplay my hand.

"I really appreciate you walking me home Mr. Chat Noir, but don't feel like you have to walk with me the whole way. I know you're busy, you have a job to do after all." I said, trying to be accommodating.

Chat Noir stuck his chest out and began to speak with a lot more confidence than he did when I was in costume, "Don't worry Marinette, I've been doing my job all night, I was just starting to feel a little lonely jumping between rooftops all by myself."

I perked up, "Do you wish you had someone else with you? I am sure Ladybug would love to patrol with you. I was under the impression you two did the whole superhero thing together."

Chat Noir let out a mature chuckle, "I couldn't possibly. Marinette, I am sure it's hard to see from your perspective but you can believe me, Ladybug? She's amazing. She cares so much about keeping people safe that she forgets to take care of herself." Chat Noir looked up into the night sky as his eyes began to shimmer, reminiscing about the time he and I had spent together, "That's how she's always been. She is so selfless. I've always been completely lost when it comes to this superhero stuff but Ladybug is just naturally gifted."

Chat seemed to echo the same thoughts I had about him. I could feel my body temperature rise as he continued complimenting me. I laughed nervously, "Oh, but I am sure lots of girls are like that, Ladybug may be special but she isn't _that_ special!"

"No way." Chat deflected, "If you met her Marinette, I am sure you'd start to see what I am talking about. In fact, the two of you are similar in a lot of ways."

I let out a surprised "Eep!" sound after I heard Chat's comparison, "What are you talking about? Me like Ladybug? No way! We're totally different!"

Chat Noir suddenly stopped in his tracks and held out his arm in front of my chest to stop my movement as well. "Stand behind me Marinette." He said, his playful character being replaced by a serious one.

I did as he instructed. "Why? What's going on Chat?"

"An Akuma." Chat Noir stated plainly as a large mechanical woman nearly four times my height revealed herself in the middle of the road. Her body was made from a white iron frame and wires hung loosely from her. In place of her head was a thin computer monitor that displayed the woman's face. She was in her mid-twenties with brown hair and hazel eyes.

"You're pretty perceptive Chat Noir." The woman replied in an electronically synthesized voice, "My name is Hi-Def. It would have been interesting to study you, but unfortunately Hawkmoth made it clear that I need to take your miraculous and that's exactly what I intend to do."

Chat Noir turned around to wink at me, "I typically avoid conversations with robots. They just seem to drone on." He said with a prideful smirk.

"Um, Mr. Chat Noir? Don't you have more important things to do than telling jokes?"

"Right."

While Chat Noir began to run towards the akumatized villain, Nevie poked her head out from my pocket, "Ladybug, tell Chat Noir to run away. We can transform and end this quickly."

"I can't do that Nevie." I objected, "Chat Noir and I are a team. I'll need his help, I am sure. I'll find a place that's out of sight before I transform."

"You did before, but things are different now. Think about last time, he might end up getting hurt again if you don't act now."

When I looked up from Nevie, I saw Chat Noir use his magic staff as a pole vault to try to take a swing at the large machine but was quickly swatted away by a large mechanical arm. "Nice try!" The woman exclaimed.

I anticipated Hi-Def to chase down Chat Noir but instead, the supervillain set her sights on me, taking off into a sprint straight towards me. I turned around to start to run but it was already too late. Hi-Def had grabbed my body with her cold metal digits and lifted me from the ground. My feet dangled in the night air as my upper-body was being squeezed by the giant.

"Marinette!" Chat Noir cried out as he slowly rose to his feet after colliding with the ground.

Hi-Def seemed to delight in the amount of control she had over the situation. "Well Chat Noir, it'd be a shame if someone else got hurt because you, wouldn't it? Give up your miraculous and I promise that I will let you and this girl both go. That would make things easier for everyone."

With Hi-Def's metal fingers around my body I couldn't see Nevie in my jacket pocket, but I could hear her voice, "Say 'Time to put the spots on Nevie.' Do it now before it's too late Ladybug."

Chat Noir was right in front of me. If I transformed now then all the hard work I have put in to keep my identity safe would all be for nothing. "No… Way…" I told Nevie through gritted teeth. My eyes moved to meet Chat Noir's. He wasn't looking at the supervillain, he was looking right at me. He was also… Hesitating? I began to struggle against Hi-Def's vice grip. Chat wasn't saying anything, my mind felt suffocated, like it was drowning and struggling to reach air.

Would Chat Noir really give up his miraculous? To only save one person? I tensed the muscles in my arms and pushed against the pale colored metal harder to escape. I couldn't let Chat Noir end it all here. We had gone through so much in the past year. Even when things seemed hopeless, he could always turn his situation around. Why was he unsure now? How could he even consider giving up his miraculous?

"Not so fast!"

A voice called from above our heads. Up on a rooftop was a blue haired girl, sporting a skin-tight red suit with black polka dots. It looked just like me wearing my original costume. She stood with her arms resting on her hips and had a subtle determination on her face.

"Ladybug…" Hi-Def scowled as she finally opened her hand, throwing me towards the ground as she began to claw her way up the building that the imposter Ladybug was standing on.

"Transform!" Nevie seethed as I flew through the air.

I closed my eyes and started to scream. I was seconds away from hitting the concrete but something else struck me before I reached the ground. I dared not open my eyes until I could feel my body stop moving. My hands instinctively started to move over my body, feeling for any discomfort or pain from my fall, yet I couldn't feel anything. I didn't hit anything, I was caught by someone. I could feel their warm breath on my skin as they steadily panted.

"I am sorry. I messed up earlier, but you're safe now."

I was saved by Chat Noir. He was kneeling while holding me in his arms. I searched for the right words to thank him as he gently sat me up on the ground.

"I have to help Ladybug. I can't walk with you the rest of the way home, you just run as fast as you can. Alright Marinette?"

Still unable to formulate a complete sentence, I nodded my head at the superhero as he ran off to fight the akuma. With Chat Noir out of sight, I finally had the privacy I needed to transform.

"Time to put the spots on, Nevie!"

To her relief, the black and white kwami entered into my earrings and my black suit appeared around my body. Once again, my hair grew in length and a dark mask hid my face. When my transformation was complete, I felt stronger as I did before. My muscles were aching before, but now they felt boldly empowered.

Hi-Def had finishing climbing the building. As she reached the top she clawed at Ladybug but as her fingers connected with Ladybug's figure, she turned into smoke. There was no mistaking it now, Rena Rouge had created an illusion to give me enough time to show up as Ladybug.

 _ **Now, crush her.**_

I was startled after feeling my mysterious voice for the third time, yet I did not have any physical reaction to it like I did before. The voice started to feel familiar, and instead of being frightened, new emotion was ushered in. I felt powerless as I saw Chat Noir being tossed around by the supervillain, I felt guilty that the akuma was making me break the promise I made to my mother to hurry home but most of all, I felt anger towards Hawkmoth for ruining a perfect evening.

"Looking for me?" I yelled at the top of my lungs at the large robot.

Hi-Def turned around and leapt from the top of the building, she landed several meters away from me, making an ear-splitting noise as the concrete cracked from her impact. "You expect me to believe you're the real Ladybug? You don't even have the right costume."

"Believe what you want." I said with a glower, "Before I take you apart piece by piece and throw you in the trash, I want you to let Hawkmoth know that sending akumas after Chat and I won't work anymore. Things have changed."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Chat Noir perching on a lamp post, preparing to attack the supervillain on my signal.

I gave Hi-Def a wicked smile, "You were so self-assured before. Looks like even machines can be afraid." I goaded.

"I'll show you who is afraid!" My taunt had worked. The supervillain dove at me, reaching out with her right hand. She may as well have been moving in slow-motion, I easily rolled out of the way as Hi-Def's enormous body moved right past me.

"Hold her down Chat!"

"With pleasure M'lady." Chat jumped from the street light, extending his staff out as he moved through the air. Using both of his hands, he pressed the staff across Hi-Def's back, preventing her from standing up straight again.

"Lucky Break!" I cried as I held out my hand in front of my body, beginning to count down from five on my fingers.

Only now did Hi-Def realize what was happening, and that she would soon return to her normal self. "No way! I had you! You were about to surrender your miraculous! How could this possibly-?"

Chat rolled out of the way before I made a fist with my hand. Just like the akuma before her, Hi-Def's mechanical body dissipated into the air, leaving only a brown-haired woman in the remains. A white butterfly began to flap its wings away from the scene. The only trace that a supervillain attacked was the damage done to the street and neighboring buildings.

"Whoa! Ladybug, what did you just do to her!?" Rena Rouge revealed herself as she walked towards Chat and I. She took on the appearance as a fox, with two fox ears poking out of her dark hair and an overcoat with a fox tail poking out behind her.

"It's a long story, maybe I'll have Chat fill you in." I said with a small shrug.

"Hey Ladybug… I apologize if this is a weird question, but you are Ladybug, right?" Chat Noir asked cautiously.

I blinked at the blonde-haired hero, "Of course I am." I gave him a smile, "Who else would I be?"

"Yeah, I don't know what I am saying." Chat said with a chuckle with a hint of nervousness, "It's just that when you were talking to Hi-Def it sorta sounded like…" Chat finished his thought early, "Forget it. I am happy to see you again M'lady."

"I am happy to see you too Chat. In fact, there has something I wanted to ask you about." I said, eager to get straight to the point and head home, "Has Master Fu approached you yet? Has he said anything about my kwami?"

Chat Noir's face let me know that he had bad news to share even before speaking a word, "Well, after you told me about your new suit and how you were using another kwami, I tried to go visit Master Fu several times but each time his lights were off and he wasn't answering the door. Maybe he's performing some kind of… Kwami healing ritual or something?"

Rena Rouge cut into the conversation, "No, he isn't home. I am sure of that."

I peered at Rena, "What?"

"Yeah, he's not in Paris." Rena Rouge clarified, "He told me he would have to reach the peak of Mount Wutai in China in order to help your kwami Ladybug. He didn't tell me much else, he practically threw my miraculous out of his cab window and headed straight to the airport."

I knew that Master Fu was doing his best to heal Tikki and that a sudden trip was necessary to make sure I could resume my duties as Ladybug as quickly as possible but I still felt betrayed. Master Fu had told me to trust in Chat Noir but didn't feel the need to tell him _anything_ about the situation Tikki was in or that he would need to fight villains all alone. Chat could have gotten hurt, or worse and Master Fu wouldn't be in the same country to lend any assistance or help. I started to feel irritated. He didn't just leave me, Chat, Rena and Queen Bee here. He abandoned us.

"You okay Ladybug?" Chat asked, snapping me out of my hateful trance. "No reason to get worked up, you told me everything there is to know already, so it's all going to be fine. Master Fu is going to come back and your kwami is going to be perfectly healthy." Chat flashed me with a bright smile.

I smiled with him, "Yeah, you're right about that Chat." A few short sentences were enough to put my mind at ease.

The necklace around Rena's neck began to flash. She had used her superpower to create the Ladybug illusion several minutes ago, it wouldn't be long until she changed back and Chat would find out that she is Alya.

"I'm going to go with Rena Rouge to transform back, you can make sure that she is alright Chat." I motioned towards the former supervillain who was still sitting on the concrete dazed from her akumatized experience.

"Your wish is my command Ladybug."

"And Chat, one other thing."

"Yeah?"

"What you did for Marinette earlier tonight… That was really cool of you."

I let Rena grab on to me as I flicked my magic yo-yo to begin swinging through the city. I stopped right in front of Alya's house before she ran out of time and transformed back. "Whew! That was a close one. Although I still don't know Ladybug, you think maybe we should let Chat Noir in on my real identity?"

"Absolutely not Alya. It's bad enough that I already know who you are, there are all sorts of bad things that can happen if we knew who we were." I explained.

Alya pouted, "But there are good things that can happen too." The brunette let out a sigh, looking down at the fox-like kwami that rested in the palm of her right hand, "You gave me Trixx because you could trust me to do the right thing… I want to be able to trust Chat the same way but it's hard when he doesn't know so much."

I empathized with Alya. Sometimes being a superhero felt more like an extension of my life than a job. There was a long period of time that had gone by where Chat didn't even know who Master Fu was, or even that there were other superheroes besides me and him. On top of it all, I was the one who had the responsibility of choosing the holder of the fox miraculous and ever since Rena Rouge has been fighting crime with us, it didn't feel good that I tried to keep so much hidden away from Chat. I wondered if maybe that was why he didn't immediately turn down Hi-Def when she asked for his miraculous. Maybe Chat Noir has something bad happening in his regular life and the pressure of being a superhero is trying to get to him. Maybe I should reach out to him.

Unfortunately for me, being a superhero is not an extension of my life. I couldn't treat Chat Noir the same way as another one of my friends. Being a superhero was a monumental responsibility. Anything that could potentially put Paris or each other in danger had to be avoided regardless of how I felt. This was a job to be taken seriously and Chat not knowing who Rena Rouge really was made everyone safer.

"I know it's hard Alya, it's hard for me too, but this is how things have to be. The more we know about each other, the more dangerous things can get. When push comes to shove, Chat Noir would want us to be safe no matter what, even if it hurts him in the process."

"Alright. I trust you." Alya reluctantly submitted.

"Very well. You should get back inside; your parents probably don't like you out this late." I suggested.

"There is just one more thing Ladybug." Alya started to say in a shaky voice, "It's my parents, things haven't been so great so…"

I raised my hand up to Alya and she stopped talking. I already understood her situation and I could already see if she continued she would end up crying. "Whatever the issue is, I want you to rest easy knowing it's about to get resolved very soon."

"Ladybug, you don't get it, this isn't something that has an easy fix."

I rested the palm of my hand on top of Alya's head, "I do get it. You said you trusted me, right? I am telling you right now that you don't have to worry." I looked at Alya's awestruck face. Normally, I wouldn't make promises I couldn't keep, but something was different tonight. I didn't just think I could find a way for Alya to stay in Paris but I knew with one hundred percent certainty that I would. Alya was too important of a friend and Rena Rouge was too important of a superhero to let go. I didn't have any second thoughts or doubts, keeping Alya here was the right thing to do.

"I am going to take care of everything, no matter what it takes."


	5. Chapter 5: A Strange Phenomenon

I woke up the next morning before my alarm went off. I sat up in my bed to stretch my arms behind my head.

"Good morning Ladybug, are you feeling well after yesterday's encounter?" Nevie asked with cute English enunciation.

"It's odd… I feel great, fantastic even." When I first used it, Nevie's power winded me for the next couple days, but now I still felt that I could take on the world. I glanced at my phone to see that it was 4:00 am and I was wide awake.

"I am so glad to hear that darling!" Nevie flew in a small circle around my head. "You truly are the greatest superhero I have ever met!"

I pulled my white t-shirt over my head, "How many superheroes have you met?"

"Ladybug. I have lived for over five thousand years." Nevie emphasized, "I have met countless heroes but all of them pale in comparison to you. You are the most selfless and driven of all of them."

Hearing Nevie so shamelessly compliment me put me in good spirits. A few days ago, it wouldn't have surprised me if she was part of Hawkmoth's latest plot but ever since, Nevie had proven that she wanted nothing more than to assist me in my superhero duties.

"Nevie, I should really apologize." I said in regret, "I haven't treated you as well at all since we met. I know we don't see eye to eye on everything but I really do appreciate all of the help you've given me."

"Perish the thought. Truthfully, I just wish I could do more. Paris is a wonderful place, you are an amazing person for always doing the right thing. I can't understand why someone like Hawkmoth is so interested on ruining it." Nevie said, shaking her head.

I had wondered the same thing for months, "He probably doesn't have many people in his life. Everyone he akumatizes is sad, angry or scared. I bet wherever Hawkmoth is, he's probably feeling all of those emotions at once."

I finished putting on my shorts, completing my athletic attire for the five-kilometer race later today and walked out into the hallway towards the restroom. Nevie trailed close behind, "Speaking of people in life…" Nevie began, "What do you plan on doing for that Alya girl? You said that you were going to 'take care of everything' but I am not exactly sure what that means."

"I mean that we are going to make sure Alya doesn't leave the city. Her father lost his job and living her is too expensive. Maybe I can dress up as Ladybug can convince some company to hire him or something."

"That sounds like an awful amount of effort." Nevie rested on my shoulder while I brushed my teeth, "You sure you wouldn't be better off just focusing on fighting crime?"

I gave my kwami a stern look, "Out of the question, I need Alya no matter what. Any chance I get to help her out, I am taking it."

Without much else to say, Nevie flew into a pocket in my shorts. I still had several hours before I needed to arrive at school so I began to waste time by cooking myself breakfast. I pulled out a skillet and cracked two eggs to start cooking them.

Something was different today.

Physically, I was better than ever but mentally? I was more spaced out than an astronaut. My body seemed to almost move on its own as I fluently and easily moved back and forth between setting the dining table and flipping my eggs on the stovetop. I had always thought of myself as a good, but clumsy cook. Something almost always went wrong but today I felt like I could make the best breakfast of my life only using ten percent of my normal brain power.

I heard my dad walking down from upstairs, his loud steps always gave him away. "Holy smokes! You're up early Marinette!"

I lazily lifted my head as I sat down to eat, "Oh hey. What's up dad?"

My father was caught off-guard by my casual greeting, "Oh. I was just I just heard you turn the stove on and I thought someone may have snuck in. Silly me."

I took a hearty gulp from my orange juice. "I hope you're not getting paranoid dad. You'd have a better chance getting akumatized than getting robbed."

My dad rubbed the back of his neck, giving me an unconvincing chuckle, "Yeah… You're probably right…" He shifted uncomfortably, "Hey Marinette? Are you feeling alright?"

I looked up after clearing my plate, "Of course I am dad. Just ready to start the day is all."

My answer seemed to appease my dad, "Well I am happy to hear that you're eager." The large man let out an equally large yawn, "I am going to go back to bed, if I don't see you before I wake up, you have a good day at school."

I thanked my father and started jogging to school. In Paris, the streets were normally packed with cars in the street and bodies on the sidewalk but this early in the morning, hardly anyone was around. I started to whistle to fill the silence in the air. Peace and quiet were both things I rarely got. I should have been glad to walk to school in silence but there was something uncomfortable about the stillness of the city around me.

I was already noticing several streets were blocked off to facilitate the school-sponsored fun-run. I could already hear the complaints from angry drivers but my principal has never backed down from the necessity of this annual event for as long as anyone could remember. The course itself was entirely on pavement and running the full distance wore down my legs last year. That of course, would be before I became a superhero, so I was interested in how much had changed.

After a few minutes I reached Collège Françoise Dupont. The clean tan color made the architecture look elegant, while the slate blue cobblestone roof held the frame together. It was one of the few secondary schools in Paris and it matched the caliber of the city's great reputation. I was glad I had the opportunity to go to school here.

I decided to begin stretching my legs as I waited for the doors to open. I was skeptical when Alya wanted to try her best during this five-kilometer run last night but something changed after I took down Hi-Def. I was ready to wipe the smug look off Chloe's face after I beat her. I smiled to myself as I began to play a scenario in my head where I see Chloe get flustered and stomp off without any good explanation to how I ran as well as I did.

I let myself fantasize for a while, but shifted my attention when I saw Mrs. Bustier get out of her car and walk towards me, "You don't normally come to school this early, I hope you aren't worried about the run today."

"Worried?" I almost scoffed at Mrs. Bustier's observation, "Not at all, I just can't wait to get started."

Mrs. Bustier opened and held open the front door for me, "I started to get worried about you, you know. Every time I started class without you, I wondered where you were." Mrs. Bustier paused, realizing she was coming off as more accusatory than she intended, "Not that you have to tell me anything you don't want to, I am just glad you are here today."

I took a deep breath. It was obvious to see that Mrs. Bustier didn't think I was a very dedicated student. I wanted to try to convince her otherwise, but I didn't think I could. Anytime Hawkmoth attacked my hands were tied academically.

"I do the best I can Mrs. Bustier. I'd appreciate you not digging any further." I said dismissively.

I would say I was surprised that I sounded so stand-offish by my comment, but truth be told, in the moment I felt content. I knew I should have apologized but I didn't feel the need to as I walked through Dupont's shady hallways.

"I am sorry I bought it up." Mrs. Bustier said, backpedaling from the conversation.

Mrs. Bustier and I entered our classroom. I felt attacked by the bright colors that painted the perimeter of the room. Mrs. Bustier walked behind her desk to start vigorously grading papers. I threw my backpack down on my desk and pulled out a notepad to begin aimlessly doodling. I wasn't inspired enough to work on my small collection of fashion designs and wasn't motivated enough to work on homework, so I simply let my mind wander.

One by one, students began to populate the rest of the room, showing up with running attire. I noticed Juleka looking like a fish out of water as the normally reserved girl overexposed herself with a black tank top and short shorts. Many people had protested the annual school-wide running event and the expressions on each of my classmates revealed why. Five-kilometers was a long distance to run period, anyone who didn't participate in physical extracurricular activities would be left in the dust. There wasn't any reason to finish the run other than to get sweaty and tired.

Out of all the students there was only one person who was ready to run five kilometers. Alya wanted in the room wearing a sweat band over her forehead and two matching wristbands. She was serious.

Her words flew out of her mouth faster than my head could possibly process them, "HeyMarinetteIdrankawholepitchersworthofcoffeebeforeIleftsonowIhavetheenergytorunfiftykilometeres."

"Alya, Alya, Alya!" I said in an effort to slow down her impossibly fast speech, "You realize that drinking coffee before running is one of the worst things you can do, right?"

Alya let out an over-exaggerated gasp, "But I have so much energy right now!"

"Maybe now, but I doubt you'll feel this good during the race."

Alya planted her head on her desk as if her forehead was magnetized to the wood, "Aw man!" she said loudly, "Seriously Marinette? I thought I was all ready to go!" Alya quickly recovered from her depressed state and sat up to tug on the sleeve of my shirt, "You have to run fast then! If the coffee doesn't work, it's all up to you to run the race!"

I laughed with a cool allude, "Thankfully, I am feeling good today. I think Chloe is going to feel pretty embarrassed after I start doing laps around her."

Alya clapped her hands together and started to wave invisible pom-poms to cheer me on, "Woohoo! Go Marinette!"

Mrs. Bustier started the class as a formality. The whole school would soon make an exodus to the starting line, but our teacher still wanted us to participate in the compliment activity we did each class. Compliments bounced around the room, although it was hard for the students to formulate any genuine observations with the looming threat of the run hanging over everyone's heads. I was pleased after it was finally my turn.

"I think Chloe is very sporty. I think she's going to win the whole race today." sarcasm subtly dripped from my words.

My comment outraged Chloe but appealed to Mrs. Bustier, "That's a lovely thing to say Marinette." The teacher said sweetly, ignoring the long and bitter relationship Chloe and I maintained.

"Alright class, before we go outside to start the run, I want to clarify that this isn't a race. We put on the five-kilometer event each year so that each of you can come home feeling a real sense of achievement. So long as everyone tries their best, then that's the most anyone could hope for."

Mrs. Bustier read the room and tried to get people to approach the run with more enthusiasm but it still wasn't enough to brighten their spirits. When we finally did get outside, there were so many students that everyone was standing shoulder to shoulder with each other. It was claustrophobic and uncomfortable. Since Mrs. Bustier wanted to go through her daily motions, our class was one of the last ones to join the rest of the school.

I turned to face Alya whose head was mere inches away from mine, "There is no way I am going to be able to get to the front being boxed in behind everyone like this." I lamented.

"Yeah… Maybe, we should just slowly jog this like we normally do." Alya compromised.

Before anyone was even ready, a starting gun went off and the conglomerate of people began to move forward, and me with them. I couldn't just jog slowly with Alya, especially not after I took such a large swing at Chloe earlier in the day. Just thinking about Chloe made me clench my jaw. She looked down everyone around here and the only excuse she gave for her irredeemable behavior was that she was the mayor's father. I wasn't going to let her hold this race over me just because I got stuck behind other people.

An exhilarating rush of energy surged through me. I wanted to win, I _needed_ to win. I began to abrasively push past the students blocking my way. My legs and mind began to move faster simultaneously as I pushed my way through the wall of bodies. I felt so strong that I had to look down to make sure I wasn't wearing my black costume. I was running the fastest I ever had in my entire life and I wasn't even getting tired. I didn't have a drop of sweat, I was breathing through my nose and my legs still felt healthy and strong. After several minutes pasted, I managed to escape the crowd and I could run freely, without holding back.

I looked up from the ground to see that there was only one other person ahead of me with blonde hair. I instantly assumed it was Chloe, the only possible way that anyone could have gotten ahead of my remarkable pace was if they cheated and cut through the course. I began to close the distance but as I did so, I realized I had been mistaken. The leader of the race had hair that was shorter than Chloe's and was completely out of breath as they resisted the urge to stop moving. It was a stark contrast to my effortless strides. I came close enough to finally identity my new rival: Adrian Agreste.

"M-Marinette?" Adrian wheezed, distracting himself.

"Oh, hello there Adrian." My voice had no traces of strain or effort behind it. Adrian was shocked I could speak as clearly as I did while running as fast as I was, "You're really fast, here I thought you were just a pretty face."

"Y-you're… Fast… Too…" Adrian managed to say while struggling to maintain enough oxygen.

"Yeah well, Mrs. Bustier asked us to try our best, so why don't we stop talking and focus on finishing this race?"

Adrian turned his gaze back towards the pavement as we both resumed running. I knew for a long time that Adrian practicing fencing but it was bizarre that his skills would transfer over to distance running. What was even more impressive was Adrian was staying at my same pace, he reliably stayed by my side for the final mile of the five kilometers. For as long as I knew him, Adrian felt more like a myth than an actual person. He was a kind and gentle teenage model who lived with impossibly high standards.

I tried to push past him but I was already running as fast as I possibly could. Even though Adrian was getting fatigued, he refused to let me pass him. We were so evenly matched, no one could say who was first and who was second after we both crossed the finish line. Mrs. Bustier was extatically cheering, seeing as we both came from her class. As much as I wanted to smile to the teachers and faculty, I only had, I was self-absorbed in thought. I wondered how I could possibly run that fast without Nevie's help. Perhaps there was some sort of magic left over in my earrings from last night that I was tapping into now, but even that didn't make much sense to me.

I realized I would need to make time to think about this later after I saw Adrian walking towards me, "Hey Marinette." He said clearly, recovering from the run. "I couldn't believe it when I saw you running as fast as you were, are you on the track team or something?"

I flipped my hair, "Not really, I just eat and sleep well, I didn't do much practicing other than that. Maybe I am just naturally gifted for this sort of thing. How about you? Seems like there isn't anything you can't do."

This was the smoothest I had ever been around Adrian. Every other encounter we had, I started to get self-conscious and wouldn't ever come off the way I wanted to. For some unknown reason, I was comfortable.

Adrian laughed, "It's funny you say that, I was thinking the same thing about you. Really, I wish I was more like you, the way you ran today? Simply amazing."

I shrugged, "I've always really admired you too Adrian. We had a bit of a rough start, but I've started to really like you."

Adrian started to blush, a good change of pace for how things normally went, "That's really cool of you to say something like that Marinette, I'm not used to hearing compliments that honest."

I took a closer to Adrian, "As a matter of fact, I've really been looking forward to getting to know you better. Are you doing anything Friday night?"

Adrian began to blush, "Well… Let's see, I have piano and fencing after school today but I should be free after seven, did you want to go somewhere?"

"I was just to the new Chinese place that opened up, I thought you would enjoy it." I said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, you bet Marinette…" Adrian hesitated.

"What is it?"

"I feel silly for even asking but I am not sure after what you just said. When we go out Friday night, are we going as friends or…?"

"No." I clarified. "I thought of it more like a date actually. If that's alright with you."

Adrian closed both of his eyes and opened them again as if to check that he was awake and really hearing the things I was saying. "Yeah, sure." Adrian looked mystified by the idea but didn't seem opposed to it at all, "That sounds like fun Marinette. I'll come pick you up on Friday."


	6. Chapter 6: Change for the Sake of Change

I stood in the middle of my room with quiet contemplation. I stared at myself in the mirror above my dresser, my expression stoic and unmoving.

Through the reflection, I saw Nevie float beside me, "Ladybug, just what are you doing? You have that date in a matter of a few hours."

"That's just it Nevie." I tilted my head to one side sluggishly, "Going on a date with Adrian, this should be the best day of my entire life. I've been trying to get his attention for so many months, any time I would try to talk to him I'd have to rehearse what I'd say over and over in my head. A few days ago, I wasn't nervous at all when I talked to Adrian. I asked him on a date in such an off-hand way…"

Nevie patted the right side of my face, "You sounded so cool when you were talking to him!" Nevie proclaimed, "You should be excited for tonight!"

"I was so unlike my normal self." I acknowledged, "I was so detached from the conversation, and even when he said yes I didn't even smile. Something is wrong with me Nevie."

Nevie's voice was sweet and almost motherly, "Nothing is wrong with you dear, in fact, I think you've matured considerably."

I raised my eyebrow, "Matured huh?"

"Of course. There isn't any reason for you to be nervous around any boy. You're a strong-willed, creative and ravishing young woman. Change is a good thing Marinette, you shouldn't be so hesitant towards it." Nevie concluded.

I scanned the features of my face. I wondered if maybe I was trying too hard to reach Adrian before. After all, he did say yes to going out with me and until now I've acted like a complete lunatic in front of him. He probably wanted a girl with more personality and charisma with some edge to her. I moved my fingers through my blue hair, feeling the strands run against my skin. Life did feel stressful before, Nevie could be on to something. Maybe change is what I needed right now.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began to dial the local hair salon.

"Who are you calling Ladybug?" Nevie inquired.

"No one." I said with a smirk, "I am just going to run a few errands before I meet with Adrian tonight."

I walked out of my house wearing a dark lipstick, thick mascara, a black tank top that boldly exposed my midriff and white leggings which were covered by a skirt matching the rest of my outfit. A small purge hung from my shoulder. I untied my traditional pigtails and allowed my hair to hang down my back. The appointment that I just scheduled would soon turn my hair color to a jet black and finalizing the metamorphosis I just underwent. Every step of the way, Nevie encouraged me to keep pushing the envelope further and further, and I couldn't find a convincing reason to stop. I wanted Adrian to know that he wasn't going to be spending his time with the old Marinette who was shy and awkward. He was going to be standing beside the new me, the brash Marinette who wasn't afraid to get impetuous when she felt like it.

I got a call from Alya before my hair appointment was finished. I decided to call her back later, but seeing her name on my phone made the wheels in my head begin to turn. It had been three days I hadn't said a word about my date with her. Anyone else would think I was delusional for trying to date a celebrity as large as Adrian Agreste but she was the only one who had ever truly believed that I could do it. Even my parents thought my fascination with him was more of an obsession than anything genuine. Not telling my best friend about this huge development in my life had never even occurred to me until right now, a mere fifteen minutes before Adrian and I were on our way to Heise Xiehu. It took a silent promise to tell Alya all about what happened tonight that made me start to feel better about withholding my good news.

After my hair appointment, I was only a few blocks away from Adrian's house. While I saw a small part of the interior as Ladybug, I never had the chance to visit as my normal self. Adrian had agreed to come pick me up from my house, but I was eager to see him. I wanted to gauge his reaction from my new look and more importantly, I hoped that seeing him in front of me would re-ignite the exhilaration I used to feel from his presence one short week ago.

As I walked, I could hear a muffled Nevie begin to stir in my purse. "Ladybug, let me see you! I need to know how you look."

I cracked open the purse for Nevie to fully inspect my newly-darkened hair. "I have no idea if Adrian will like it, but this new look makes me feel stylish."

"You look immaculate. Just remember talk to him the same way you did at school, and everything will go swimmingly."

I nodded my head and zipped up my purse. I had come to the front of Adrian's house, although to me, the building looked more like a mansion. Iron gates welcomed me into the multiple storied house. The lawn's grass was freshly cut with elegant precision and the estate itself was beautiful in its entirety. Adrian's father had owned his own fashion brand and one of the most prolific fashion designers Paris had on offer. I would have thought Adrian had the perfect upbringing if it wasn't for the tragic accident involving his mother.

I rang the doorbell and a woman in her early fourties answered the door with glasses with black and red striped frames. She her movement and voice sounded cold and robotic, "Oh, you must be Marinette Dupain-Cheng, please come in. I will let Adrian know that you're here."

I stepped inside to the expansive house. Gallant paintings lined the walls and there were no scrapes or blemishes on the hardwood floor. The house was beautiful and ornate but there was an eerie feeling that existed in all its magnificence. The size and scope would lend itself well to parties but seldom anyone visited Adrian or his father. It was like the entire house had passed away along with Adrian's mom.

From the top of the staircase, Adrian seemed to breathe life into everything that surrounded him. He wore a cotton sports coat with a white pocket square hanging out of his front pocket. Underneath, he wore a light-colored button-down shirt, with both the top buttons undone, framing his face perfectly. His blonde hair was combed back and his complexion was without flaw. Adrian was a model and had always looked attractive, but what struck me was how much effort he had put into our first date. In that moment, as I looked up to his glowing figure, I remembered why I had been in love with Adrian for so long.

"Hey there Marinette, I almost didn't recognize you there for a moment." Adrian let out a boyish chuckle.

I could have just stood still in silence. I felt completely awe-struck but my mouth began to articulate words on its own. "I'm trying something a little new, it looks like you are too." I felt my black lips form a small smile, "You look even better than usual. If that were even possible."

Adrian finished walking to the ground floor, "Well I think you look great Marinette, I would have never thought black was your color but I see now that you can pull it off."

The conversation between Adrian and I gave me some much-needed levity. The last several hours had consisted of me trying to throw away my old image and it was calming to talk with Adrian as one of his bodyguards drove us to the restaurant. Taking Nevie's advice was a huge risk, but it seemed to have paid off. Adrian liked the way I looked, I didn't get nervous when I spoke to him, and because I could stop akumas so quickly with Nevie, it would be easier to spend time with a boyfriend than it would have been with Tikki. Adrian opened my car door for me after we arrived at Heise Xiehu, and I took a step outside, I let go of the past and embraced the future.

To my surprise, Adrian seemed really impressed by the architecture. "Wow, this place is incredible Marinette, I should have gone here when this first opened." He said as he stared at the Chinese Dragons on the ceiling.

"Are you putting on an act or something?" I asked playfully, "I just your house you know. You practically live in a castle, I am sure you go to places like this all of the time."

"Well that might be true, but my father hardly ever lets me out of the house and he's too busy for us to eat out together. Something like this is special, so I wanted to say thank you Marinette." He said with sincerity.

I sat back in my seat and crossed my legs, "I've been meaning to ask you out for a while. Ever since that day you gave me your umbrella really. When saw you in class or when I read a magazine with you in it, I always wondered if I ever had the chance to get closer to you."

My mind was working on auto-pilot. I didn't put any thought into what I was saying, I only articulated the first things that came into my mind. On the inside, I felt completely embarrassed and exposed, but on the outside, I wasn't phased in the slightest.

"You said you wanted to get to know me better earlier." Adrian reminded me, "If you have any questions, I'm happy to let you in on anything you want to know."

"First question." I announced, drumming my fingers on the table, "What do you do for fun in your house if you have to stay in there all day?"

Adrian shrugged, "My father keeps a large library. If I am feeling bored I'll pick one out. I also keep up to date with Alya's blog on Ladybug, she's a very talented writer. I'll be the first to admit that it's easy to get lonely with a father as overprotective as mine, but I am sure he has his reasons."

I reached over the table to grab Adrian's wrist, "Well, you don't have to be lonely anymore. I am going to take good care of you. That's a promise."

Before Adrian could respond, we were interrupted by a man who had jumped out of his seat several tables behind us, "Everyone run! T-there is an akuma outside!"

Panic rushed through the restaurant as everyone began to flee at the untimely news. I knew that I needed to disappear to take care of the threat but the date I had with Adrian was only just starting. No way I would let our first time out go to disaster because of Hawkmoth. I squeezed Adrian's wrist tight.

"You stay right here." I commanded.

"What are you talking about Marinette? There is an akuma outside, we're both in danger!"

"I am going to go get help that can take care of the supervillain, we are going to resume things in just a few minutes, no need for worry."

"Marinette, that's crazy! Even the kitchen staff are leaving, there isn't any reason to stay here."

"Just don't move!" I snapped, frustrated at Adrian's insistence to leave, "Ladybug will stop the villain in a matter of seconds, she just has to know that there is an akuma here."

Adrian looked shaken up. I left him at the table as I ran into the women's restroom to transform. Before I could get my magic words out, Nevie decided to nag me.

"Why are you wasting time? It's obvious that boy isn't going to wait for you to take down the akuma!"

I gave Nevie a glare. "Yes, he will." I said, trying to pierce the kwami with the words, "Time to put the spots on, Nevie." I said, before she had a chance to disagree.

Nevie flew into my earrings and I felt myself start to transform. The black suit covered my whole body as usual but without my pigtails, when my hair extended in length, it made me look wilder and more unkept than before. It also retained its black coloration which fit the rest of the suit perfectly. I was once apprehensive towards the suit but now I felt more at home wearing my white spots than I did with my black ones. Tikki would always give me encouragement to be a good superhero but Nevie was able to put more strength into my muscles, gave me a stronger power that didn't require me to come up with some convoluted plan, and turned me from a good superhero to the _best_ superhero. Becoming Ladybug once again gave me a hit of adrenaline. Fighting villains was a nuisance before, but now it was something I looked forward to.

I ran out of the restaurant to face my new adversary. In the middle of the street was the akumatized villain. It was a girl around my age, wearing track shorts with pink bubblegum hair. She took a low stance after she spotted me.

"Well that didn't take long." She said in a squeeky voice, "I got you right where I want you Ladybug, my name is Speed Star, I'll take your miraculous before you even know what's happening! With these amazing powers, I am sure Adrian would want to go out with me instead of that goth girl."

I couldn't help but laugh. Speed Star was a jealous fan who got akumatized because I went on a date with Adrian. At this rate, every girl at my school could be turned into a supervillain. "Listen, it doesn't matter what powers you have." I said cocking my head back to look down on the supervillain, "No guy is going to take you seriously when you sound like you do."

"You're going to wish you hadn't said that!" Speed Star had gone from standing still to moving at least forty miles an hour. She was quickly closing the distance between us, so I raised my hand up to the girl.

"Lucky Br-"

I didn't even have the time to get my words out, Speed Star had already slammed her fist into my stomach, staggering me long enough for her to easily swipe my earrings.

"Evening M'lady."

In what could only be considered a miracle, Chat Noir came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my torso. Using his extendable staff, he vaulted us up to a nearby rooftop. Speed Star might have been fast, but Chat and I still had a little bit of time before she climbed the flight of stairs up to us.

"She's too fast for me to use my superpower. Chat, can you hold her down for five seconds like you did the last villain?" I asked as I stood up on my own.

"I can try M'lady, but she's fast for me too. I also can't use my Cataclysm since you won't be able to repair any of the damage I do with it." Chat Noir stroked his chin in thought, "I think we should hop across these rooftops, it's going to be very difficult for her to follow us."

"And then what? How do we beat her if we can't fight her?"

Chat held his staff up to his head, holding it like a phone, "I'll call Rena and QB. With all four of us here? No way we'll lose."

I was ready to agree with Chat Noir. Speed Star was much more powerful than most akumas Chat and I had the displeasure of fighting. Waiting for help to arrive seemed like the best idea to me, but I felt the issue being contested in my conscious mind.

 _ **Not stopping her now will only cause more damage to everyone and everything around you. Finish this now.**_

No matter who the villain was, or what sort of crazy powers that they had, I was always the one to come up with a plan to defeat them. Rena Rouge and Queen Bee may have strong powers, but them being here wouldn't guarantee success. I clenched my hand into a fist. We didn't need to wait around for Speed Star to ruin more of the city. I knew how fast she was moving and I could react to her better next time. I knew that I could beat her.

"I don't think so Chat." I said waving him away, "Let me handle this."

Chat moved his staff away from his ear, "No way I am going to let you fight her all by yourself. I'll be by your side if you don't want to wait for the others."

"Do whatever you want." I remarked dismissively.

Without much time left, Speed Star broke through the rooftop door and didn't stop to monologue. She headed straight for me, Chat tried to intercept her, but a well-placed blow to his chest was enough for her to continue her pursuit. I couldn't match her speed, but I could roughly estimate where she would be to stop her in her tracks. I held my magic yo-yo in my hand and with a flick of my wrist, tried to guide it to where I thought Speed Star would be but she didn't make her capture quite that easy. She moved fast enough to avoid the yo-yo and slammed her foot into my breast.

I fell on my back, crumpling under the severe pain caused by Speed Stars attack. I looked up to see that she had managed to move so quickly that she took Chat's staff and started to use it against him. Chat was losing ground against Speed Star, moving closer and closer to the edge of the roof. In a sudden and devastating movement, Speed Star extended Chat's staff and used it to sweep his feet out from underneath him. In a blink of an eye, before I could react, I watched as my partner fell off the building.

"Cataclysm!" I could hear him yell, likely as a last-ditch effort to try to slow his fall.

Speed Star put her hands over her mouth in horror. Clearly, she did not intentionally try to murder Chat Noir, however, this moment of shock left her vulnerable, and I was ready to take advantage. I threw my yo-yo out in front of me and wrapped the string around Speed Star's legs, pulling her to the ground. I rose to my feet and continued wrapping the rest of her legs, then her torso, then her arms. She was completely immobile and harmless to me.

In a fit of anger over Chat Noir, I sat the supervillain up and slapped her across her face. I felt overwhelming satisfaction. I hit her once again and once again, I started to feel better. This person, who had caused Chat and I so much pain deserved to be punished. I began to swell with rage. Hawkmoth and akumas left my mind as I fixated on the villain who was tied up in front of me.

 _ **It's all her fault**_

I brought my hand back to strike her a third time, but as I did so, someone grabbed my arm. I turned around to see that Queen Bee had arrived too late to stop the supervillain, but just in time to stop me. She glared at me underneath her yellow and black mask.

"What do you think you're doing Ladybug?"

I stood up from Speed Star, "Villains don't remember their actions when they turn back to normal."

"And that's supposed to make it okay!?" Chloe snapped back, "Ladybug, we can't go beating up defenseless people, villains or not. We're supposed to be superheroes."

Chloe's lack of respect irked me, what did she know about being a superhero? She had only become Queen Bee for a month or so and had the audacity to start lecturing me. I had a right to be angry but a small part of my heart accepted the possibility that she was right, so without any more arguing, I turned back towards the captive villain.

"Lucky Break." I muttered.

The girl's hair had turned from pink to brown and her athletic clothing was replaced with a baggy sweatshirt and jeans. A white butterfly flew out of her trashy-looking sneakers. I recognized her face as an underclassman who attended my same school.

"There. Happy now?" I said sneering at Queen Bee, "I have somewhere I need to be, you check that Chat Noir is okay."

Queen Bee took a step away from me, "You don't help me? He fell from four stories… To save you Ladybug…"

I stepped to the edge of the roof and looked down to the ground. I could see Chat sprawled on the ground, clearly in pain but he was still moving. I threw my yo-yo to another building, preparing to swing back to Heise Xiehu.

"He'll be alright. Just make sure he didn't get a concussion or anything." I said dryly.

Queen Bee started to scream at me, "What is the matter with you Ladybug!? I can forget about you beating up supervillains for your enjoyment, but this is Chat we're talking about! How many times has he saved you? Or better yet, how many times has he saved all of Paris!? And you don't even care!" Chloe was beginning to lose her composure, she was beginning to hyperventilate and even tear up as she continued her verbal barrage, "He-he loves you Ladybug! Even if you don't feel the same, doesn't he deserve more than to be left on the concrete!? What happened to the Ladybug I used to love!?"

I didn't turn my head to face Queen Bee as I responded to her. "I have something to take care of now, that's it. Now instead of blaming me for everything, how about you help Chat Noir like I've already told you?"

I moved as fast as I could back to the restaurant. At most, the fight had taken seven or eight minutes, even if Adrian was nervous, I was still relatively certain that he would wait at least that long for me. I ran through the front door still dressed in my black suit but as I looked out towards the tables, not a soul was around. No cooks, waiters, and no Adrian.

"Time to take the spots off Nevie." I grumbled in disdain, "How did the best day of my life turn into my worst so quickly?


	7. Chapter 7: An Unhappy Reunion

My parents looked devastated as I sulked into my kitchen. I was too distracted from what happened earlier to give them much attention.

My mother looked up from the vegetables she was chopping, "Marinette what happened to your hair?" she gasped.

"I dyed it." I mumbled.

My dad looked me up and down, "You could have at least told us something. Hey, what happened Marinette?"

I began to fume, "You want to know what happened? I was supposed to go to Heise Xiehu today with Adrian Agreste but he stood me up! You two have heard how much I've been waiting for a moment like this and it's like he doesn't even care!"

"Heise Xiehu…" My dad repeated, looking over into the other room towards the television, "Is that where…?"

"Yes, an akuma attacked." I said, anticipating my father's next words, "But what does it matter? Everyone knows that Ladybug will show up and take care of everything." I simmered.

My mother opened her arms wide to hug me, "Thank heavens you are alright! If anything happened, I don't know what I'd do."

I pulled away from my mom, "Are you even listening to me? Ladybug made sure everyone was alright. Like she always does. Everyone knew things were going to be fine but Adrian left me there at the restaurant! Tonight must have not been a high priority for him."

"Marinette, you can't act so carelessly." My mom warned, "Akumas are extremely dangerous. Ladybug does the best she can, but please don't worry me by acting as if nothing happened, you could have been hurt!"

The irony of the moment was rich. How could my parents possibly understand how I see the world when they only saw half of the picture? My mom wanted me to stay out of harm's way when I threw myself into danger on a daily basis. Still, it irked me that they wouldn't take my side on an issue I was so emotional over.

"Try not to get too worked up over Adrian. I am sure after a conversation you two will go right where you left things off." My mother offered.

I boiled over, "So it's fine then, right!? That he decided not to show up all because one little pink-haired akuma started walking around shorter than five minutes!?" I made a fist with my hand and hit the table, "It's his fault! How can you not see that!?"

"That's enough." My dad said raising his voice, "Marinette, I don't know what's going on but I don't like it. Your mother and I don't need to know where you are at all times, but sending us a text or two wouldn't hurt. You dyed your hair without even telling us…" my dad let out an exasperated sigh, "I think you should stay here at home for a while."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked with more attitude than I should have.

"It means you're grounded for a week." My father said definitively.

My fury sprang to life, I feel like I was ready to scream at the top of my lungs, but instead I only cracked a smirk, "Sure thing dad." I said coldly.

My parents were as surprised at my reaction as I was. Without any other words exchanging between us, I walked up the steps towards my room. I closed the door behind me and collapsed on my bed.

Nevie flew out of my pocket, "A spectacular job with the akuma today Ladybug."

"Are you kidding?" I murmured through my pillow, "I got myself and Chat hurt."

"It took a while to get her figured out." Nevie admitted, "But you remained focused while she did not, that's what separates you from all the other heroes I have seen. You understand that nothing else is more important than stopping Hawkmoth. I can see you're still upset about Adrian but consider how many people could have been hurt without your decisiveness to take care of the situation yourself in such an efficient manner."

I rolled over on my back. I faced my ceiling and spoke openly with Nevie, "I have to admit something to you. Back down there? At the kitchen? It wasn't really Adrian I was mad at. You have to understand I've been obsessed with Adrian for an entire year, and yet when we went out, I didn't feel a thing." I let out a deep sigh, "It was the same during the race, I didn't feel anything towards him. How could that possibly happen? This is Adrian Agreste after all."

I leaned on my side to view a headshot picture of Adrian posted on my wall, "I am supposed to be in love with him, but recently I can't feel anything when I look at him…" I bit my tongue in contemplation of what I was about to ask next. "Nevie, are you doing anything to my mood?"

"Why of course I am dear." Nevie said sweetly, "I am trying to cheer you up! You're a hero Ladybug, you deserve to feel like one!"

"It's going to be hard to be a hero when I am grounded in my room." I said flatly.

"Well, that akuma you fought was certainly powerful. It'll probably be a little while before Hawkmoth chooses to attack again. Even if he does, you could probably slip outside your window and be back before anyone even notices." Nevie hypothesized.

"Yeah, you're probably right." I said conceding.

Nevie patted my forehead, "Now get some rest dear, you have certainly earned it."

I closed my eyes and let my body sink into the mattress below me. I began to drift off and doubts climbed into my mind. I shouldn't have told Adrian to wait for me. If he had gotten hurt from Speed Star, I would never forgive myself, yet I was so insistent. I was selfish. My shoulders relaxed as my irritation towards Adrian began to fade. I made a silent promise to myself to apologize to him as soon as I saw him again.

I woke up to see that most of my sheets had ended up on the floor. I had tossed and turned all night but I still felt well rested. I began getting dressed to start my first day of being grounded.

I sat in my desk chair and stared into a black computer screen. Before I had the chance to even turn it on, there was a ring at the door. My head swiveled around to see that it was five in the morning.

There was only one person who would come to my house at five AM.

I ran to the front door, relieved that the ringing didn't wake my parents. I turned the door knob to reveal the wrinkled face of Master Fu standing on my doorstep.

"Good morning Marinette, we have a lot to discuss." He hummed.

I stepped outside and quickly closed the door behind me. I spoke in a hushed voice, "Master Fu!? Do you have any idea what time it is? If my parents saw you, it's not like I can just roll my eyes and say you're the Guardian of the Miraculouses."

"I understand Marinette, but I thought you wanted to say hello as soon as possible."

Master Fu did not move a muscle, after she was prompted, Tikki flew out from behind Master Fu, "Marinette! I missed you so much!" Tikki flew towards me to hug me in her tiny red and black arms, "Hey, what happened to your hair?" she asked in her high pitch voice.

My eyes lit up in Tikki's embrace, "I've missed you too." I said, shaken.

"I wanted to ask about your new look too." Master Fu said tensely, "Marinette, where is the kwami of envy?"

I pulled away from Tikki and turned to face Master Fu, "Kwami of envy? I am not sure if I know one." I said dumbfounded.

"The black ladybug." Master Fu's eyes narrowed as he watched the subtleties of my reaction, "The kwami of envy takes on a familiar form and uses its power to take away the magic of all those around her. Do you know where she is Marinette?"

My heart rate quickened. Nevie wasn't the kwami of inspiration, she blatantly lied to me, not only about her powers but also her identity. I could feel her shifting in my pocket. There was a chance that she was getting ready to run away. I looked up to Master Fu. If I revealed Nevie to him, it would be goodbye. I believed what Master Fu was saying, but was he aware that Nevie could stop three villains in a week? I wasn't comfortable with the idea of giving up the only one I could depend on for the last week without consoling with her first.

"She comes and goes." I finally said, "I don't know where she is, but she always shows up when there is an akuma attack."

Master Fu peered at me, "Do you have any idea where she may be?"

"I don't." I lied, "I am sorry Master Fu."

"The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves Marinette." Master Fu spoke as if he were reading a poem, "She is duplicitous in the way she works."

I started to feel annoyed. Master Fu had faith in Chat Noir to protect Paris by himself but couldn't trust me to handle Nevie. "I am sure it won't be an issue." I asserted, "Aren't you going to tell me where you were though Master Fu? It's been an entire week and Chat nor I have heard anything from you, what if something happened?"

"Marinette!" Tikki interrupted, "Master Fu did the best he could!"

Master Fu did not flinch from my direct question, "Do not anxiously hope for what is not yet to come; do not vainly regret what is already past Marinette. Tikki wasn't just sick, she was attacked and the only way I could properly heal her is to visit Mount Wutai."

"Attacked? Attacked by who?" I wondered.

"I think you and I both know the answer to that Marinette." Fu said calmly. "I also came to let you know that I talked to Chat Noir before coming here. He'd also like to speak with you."

I began to build up a wall of excuses, "He's probably mad at me, right? Well I told Queen Bee to take care of him! And its own fault he fell off that roof, he was being careless! I was also very busy yesterday so-!"

Master Fu raised a hand and I stopped my ranting, "Chat Noir didn't sound troubled in the slightest. I believe he wanted to check up on you actually."

Tikki raised one of her eyebrows at me. Maybe I didn't need to do any explaining to Chat Noir, but Tikki seemed very skeptical that I was the same person I was before she left.

"I'll go see him soon then." I replied.

"Take care of yourself Marinette." Master Fu said sincerely, "And make sure you do not speak to the kwami of envy again. If you see her, come see me."

I nodded, "You got it Master Fu."

The master bowed his head and began to walk back towards the street. I re-entered my home and scurried into my room. I slammed the door behind me and locked it behind me. I moved over to my windows to close my blinds as well. Tikki noticed my peculiar behavior.

"Marinette? What are you doing?"

"I am sorry Tikki, this isn't a proper reunion for you and I but I have things I need to figure out." I reached into my pocket and grabbed Nevie out.

Tikki gasped, "Marinette! It's the black ladybug! We must go find Master Fu right now! He couldn't have gotten far!"

Nevie couldn't keep up her proper etiquette with this much pressure on her, "Please, Ladybug! It's not as you think!"

"You lied to me Nevie." I said coldly. "I wanted to trust you too."

"What are you doing Marinette!?" squeaked Tikki, "She's evil, we have to get rid of her!"

Nevie's voice was shaky, "All that I've done… I've done it for you Ladybug! If I told you that I was the kwami of envy you wouldn't have used me and three villains would be running rampant across the city! I had to do anything I could to change your mind. The old man from before only knows me from what he's read in books, you're the only one who knows the real me!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. The rational part of my mind agreed with Tikki, I always had a feeling that Nevie was trouble and hearing Master Fu talk so strongly against her only validated that perspective. There was a contrary doubt gnawing at me in the corner of my mind. If Nevie was truly the things that Master Fu that she was, she had many opportunities to betray me but she never did. Nevie was a shady character, she peeked under my mask without my knowledge after all, but the Nevie I came to know over the last week didn't match up with how Master Fu described her.

"So, you're the kwami of envy, what does that mean exactly? You stole Tikki's look?"

Nevie began to explain, "I just wished I was like you Ladybug, I wanted to help you, envy is the same thing as inspiration really…"

"It isn't the same at all!" Tikki burst out, "You were the one that attacked me and now you're here trying to replace me!"

It was a big accusation, but Tikki could be right. I realized that it was worthwhile to test Tikki's hypothesis.

"Tikki is right." I turned on the black ladybug, "You were the one who hurt her. Why did you do it? Did you do it to take Tikki's place like she said?"

Nevie clasped her hands together, "I did no such thing my dear, you have to believe me!"

"How could I possibly believe you Nevie? You lied to me every chance you got. Why don't you just admit it already?"

"Please Ladybug, I am telling you the truth!"

My interrogation raged on for another several minutes, but Nevie refused to crack. Tikki became sick at the exact same time that Nevie showed up, but a correlation does not equal causation. I had pressed Nevie hard and she showed me that she was innocent.

"Alright. I believe you." I finally caved.

Tikki fell into a panic, "Wait Ladybug, how can you say that? Master Fu told you that you can't trust her! She's dangerous!"

"It's alright Tikki, you've missed out on a lot." I said, sitting down on my bed, "Nevie has helped me out with a lot lately. I just can't believe that she's some wicked villain on the inside."

"Thank you, Ladybug." Nevie chirped.

"Marinette! I can't believe this! What happened to you? You've never doubted Master Fu before!" Tikki exclaimed.

"I guess I started back when he left Paris without telling anyone. Tikki, you wouldn't be able to imagine what would have happened if I didn't have Nevie to let me transform. Master Fu would have come back to a Paris rampant with supervillains. I really think Nevie just wants to help."

"That makes sense and all but, Marinette something is so obviously wrong here! You have to at least realize that much!" Tikki pleaded.

 _ **She's selfish.**_

I didn't know how could I make Tikki understand how I felt. No one had even tried to get to know Nevie until she came to me. Even if she had a troubled history, she could defeat akumas better than any other kwami. Was allowing her to help truly a bad thing?

I wanted to diffuse the arguments. "Tikki, please don't be angry. Spend some more time around Nevie and I am sure she'll show you what she's truly like."

"No." Tikki defiantly stated, "Marinette, Master Fu was the one who chose you to become a superhero in the first place. How can you trust Nevie's word over his?" Tikki ducked her head under the window blinds, "If you won't stop Nevie, I'll find someone who will." She threatened.

"That's enough Tikki, please, why don't you just give her-?"

Tikki had already flew out the window. It was dangerous for her to fly around on her own and risk exposing the existence of kwamis to the rest of the world.

"Ladybug?" Nevie asked from behind me, "Are you alright Ladybug? I am so sorry I have caused you so much trouble…"

"It's fine Nevie." I said simply, "If Tikki doesn't have enough faith in me to make my own choices then that's fine. We've been doing a great job fighting supervillains on our own. We can wait a little longer until Tikki changes her mind."

"I promise I will do my best to keep Paris safe."

I smiled, "I know you will Nevie. Now what do you say we suit up? Master Fu said that Chat Noir wanted to talk about something."

"It would be my pleasure Ladybug." Underneath her words, Nevie spoke with a subtle trace of triumph.


	8. Chapter 8: Right and Wrong

I felt uncomfortable parading around in the city streets in my black costume. Almost every single person I passed on the sidewalk stared right at me. I wanted more than anything to flick my yo-yo towards the nearest rooftop and begin to soar above all the onlookers, but Chat Noir made it clear that he wanted to meet me on the city streets.

When I took a better look at my surroundings, I realized why he was so insistent. He wanted to meet on the same street where he and I first met each other. I could still remember the moment as if it were yesterday. Back then, any time I tried to swing through the city, my hands would start frantically shaking. I had no confidence in being a superhero and it was only Tikki's persistence that made me even consider trying. I remember being so worried about throwing my yo-yo too far or too short and end up falling on the pavement. I was so worried in fact, I didn't even notice Chat Noir as I barreled into him. Even from the first time I saw Chat Noir I knew he would soon become a great superhero. He had the right look and the right attitude. As much as it got on my nerves sometimes, Chat's overconfidence never left him even when he had to overcome huge challenges. He approached everything with a calmness to him.

"Ladybug I am glad you made it."

My reminiscing ended as I turned around to see a pair of glowing green eyes looking right towards me. Even now, he spoke with the same coolness in his voice.

"What is this about Chat? I have other places I need to be right now." I said more harshly than I wanted.

"Have you seen Master Fu yet?"

"Yeah, he told me you wanted to talk, so spit it out, why are we here Chat?"

Chat looked away from me and rubbed the side of his arm, "I haven't stopped thinking about you since Speed Star. I am worried about you Ladybug."

"I'm out of here."

I turned and brought my hand back to throw my magic yo-yo to the nearest building but Chat spoke up before I committed to my rash decision. "Cataclysm!"

I stamped my foot on the ground, "Chat, that's dangerous! Don't use your superpower like that for no reason!"

A plastic bag conveniently rolled across the ground, giving Chat the opportunity to grab it with his right hand and make the litter disappear into thin air. Chat stood up straight again and showed me his flashing ring. "I only need five minutes Ladybug. Surely you can spare at least that much for me."

I let out a large sigh and let my back fall against a street light to lean on, "Alright, go ahead, give me an earful about how different I am now and how better things were before." I said, sarcasm bleeding through the words.

"The reason you attacked the villain head-on yesterday without waiting for help…" Chat began, ignoring my remark, "It's because there was somewhere else you had to be right? Did something serious happen? Is that why you've been looking so sad? If you have some sort of emergency I want to help."

"For the last time." I prefaced, restraining my voice from sounding angry, "We can't know anything about each other Chat. If there was anything going on, for both of our sakes I wouldn't tell you."

"Ladybug, we can't think like that anymore." Chat said with certainty, "Hawkmoth is going to keep on attacking the city and we have to support each other if we're going to manage to eventually stop him. I don't want what happened last night to happen again."

I could feel my muscles tense as I remembered Chat Noir's fall. "I am really sorry about yesterday. I really didn't want things to turn out like that, I am relieved to see you even standing up straight today." I confided, guilt overpowering me.

"I wasn't talking about what happened to me Ladybug, I was talking about what happened to you."

"What happened to me?" I scratched the back of my head.

Chat Noir took a deep breath, "When you were knocked down from the supervillain, I started to feel afraid. For a split second, I thought you were about to lose more than your miraculous. I won't let that happen Ladybug, so please tell me what is going on."

"How many times do I have to tell you Chat? We can't know anything about each other."

Chat Noir pushed, "Really? NOTHING about each other? Would it put everyone in danger if you just let me feel useful one time out of this year?"

My brow furrowed, "Chat, you're very useful, there is no need to pry into my-"

"I have a Ladybug screensaver on my phone."

"… What?"

Chat Noir started to get flustered, speaking progressively faster, "Yeah and I have a Ladybug sweatshirt too… Although I never wear it around to draw any attention to myself, but I really admire you so I really treasure all the Ladybug stuff that I have. I even wrote you a poem and then Nino saw it and he gave me this look like, 'dude, are you kidding me?' and then I started to feel silly and I threw it away and of course, I hide all of this from my father too, which is hard because there isn't anyone who even knows how I really feel and I- and I-!" Chat was trembling as he made his confession.

A crowd of people began to form a small circle around us as Chat Noir stood there, completely exposing himself about his infatuation with me.

I stopped Chat Noir early, "Chat! Chat! Stop already! This is embarrassing for me too!"

Chat Noir's ring flashed, he only had a couple more minutes left as a superhero before he changed back. I ran up to him and grabbed on to Chat's ring hand, half to get him to stop sputtering off nonsense and half to get him to realize that he had to get out of sight quickly."

"Why are you telling me all of this Chat?" I asked exasperated.

"Because now you know a few things about me M'lady." The blonde hero said coyly, "I know plenty about you too. You're intuitive, brave, and you're stubborn too. I know you Ladybug, I just need the details on what is happening with you so I can lend you a hand. We're not just partners, we're friends. And who knows? Maybe someday we'll be more than friends."

The crowd around us multiplied quickly and as they heard Chat's heartfelt words they all sighed an 'aww' noise. I started to feel myself caving into Chat's request. After all, he had kept his secret identity away from the entire world just as I had. It used to frustrate me that no one could truly understand what I had to go through daily between my superhero and normal life, but as I stood in the middle of the crowd of people listening to Chat Noir, I started to feel that I wasn't alone.

Chat's ring flashed another time. One more minute.

"You're about to change back." I said quietly, "But after your kwami gets some food and rests… Maybe I will tell you a little bit about myself. I can't promise it'll be as personal as you want, but I think a few things here and there couldn't hurt." I said, almost relieved that I came to my conclusion.

"I'll hold you to it Ladybug." Chat said with a smile, "Now I'd better get going, I'll be looking forward for the next time we have a chance to talk."

"Don't change, kitty." I said as I prepared my yo-yo for my getaway.

I was glad to see that Chat Noir managed to run out of sight before changing back. He was crazy to use his power to convince me to just hear him talk for a few minutes. I was thankful that his silly plan worked though. As I jumped from rooftop to rooftop, I started to wonder what exactly I would tell the leather-clad superhero. Would I say something silly like my mom thinks Ladybug is too serious? Or should I go as far as letting him know about Tikki and Nevie?

I leaped down from the rooftops and down to an unsuspecting alleyway. Suddenly, without any warning, Nevie flew out of my earrings and I transformed back to Marinette Dupain-Cheng in an instant.

"Nevie! I didn't say the magic words! How did you-!?"

"Ladybug. Look." Nevie motioned towards the end of the alleyway and I stepped out into the sunlight to view what caught her attention. Across the road I could see an old but well-kept three-story building with smashed windows and flashing alarms going off inside. It took me a minute, but I recognized it.

"A bank robbery?" I was astonished. "But there hasn't been any crime for months…"

Nevie was hurried, "Ladybug. We have to stop this from happening, there goes the criminal now!"

A large man wearing a baggy sweatshirt sprinted out of the chaos. He had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder and he clung to it as he made his way on to a motorcycle for his getaway. The police were still nowhere in sight, perhaps they got complacent with Ladybug and Chat Noir running around.

"Nevie, the police can handle something like this. What if the robber had a gun? We can fight supervillains but I'm not comfortable fighting criminals."

"Ladybug, we can't even see a single police car on the street! I thought you wanted to protect Paris no matter what! That burglar could be dangerous. There isn't any other option Ladybug, you must stop him!"

If I thought any longer the criminal would escape and my choice would be made for me. I was hesitant but I decided to pursue the hooded figure.

"Time to put the spots on Nevie!"

Only moments after Nevie left my earrings, she re-entered them and I felt the exhilarating rush of the power she gave me. I threw my yo-yo at the corner of the building to act as a climbing rope for me to ascend once again. I was moving at speeds I never thought were possible. I maintained my line of sight with the motorcycle despite it moving at over ninety miles an hour. I felt my strands of hair being pulled back, as if someone was standing behind me tugging on them. I barely needed to move my arms in order to send my yo-yo flying and wrapping around street lights and buildings to keep me airborne.

The biker seemed to notice me as well. He nervously turned his head behind him and after he saw how quickly I could move he pressed harder on the gas, traveling even faster than before. He clearly was not accustomed to riding as fast as he was. As he gained in speed, he began to wobble from the g-forces at play. I knew I needed to stop him before he fell off and ended up hurting himself.

I wasn't gaining any more distance. In fact, I was losing ground as his machine could simply ride faster than I could swing, even with Nevie's power. The window of opportunity to stop this criminal was closing. I knew that I needed to do something fast if I wanted to stop him.

I brought my hand back and with one powerful overhand throw, I lobbed my yo-yo above a street light, and the drawstring extended to its maximum length. The string narrowly managed to wrap around the biker and I pulled the straight taught. Using the leverage from the street light, I lifted the criminal up into the air off his bike and watched him dangle from the lamp post.

"You were moving pretty quick there…" I slowly walked towards him, wrapping my yo-yo's drawstring around my arm as I did so, "But you didn't really think you were going to get away with it right?"

The bank robber was slowly spinning in a circle as he hung, he was a short, overweight Asian man. He didn't look like the sort of person who would be out robbing banks and that was made especially clear when I saw that he was crying.

"P-please! I didn't want to do this! I was laid off from work… I told my family I-I-I'd figure something out so I had t-this crazy i-i-idea… I am so sorry!"

The man began openly weeping as he slowly spun around again so his back was facing me. Considering he was laid off, it was very possible that he was from the same company as Alya's father. I wanted to pity him, but it was hard to forgive a man who just tried to rob a bank and run off with everyone else's money.

I helped the old man down and took the duffle bag full of cash off his shoulder and on to mine. He didn't stop sobbing throughout the entire exchange. I was glad that several cop cars pulled up beside us, sparing me from dealing with the emotional train wreck I had on my hands.

"I am going to return this money. Hopefully some time in prison will set you straight to never do something like this again." I said, walking away from the man.

"P-please, you don't need to do this."

"I don't need to do anything." I remarked, "You did this all to yourself."

With that, I began to return the same way I came, comforted that I didn't need to stare down a barrel of a gun to apprehend the felon. All that I had to do now was to give the duffle bag full of money back to the bank.

 _ **But Ladybug, isn't there someone else who could use that money?**_

I didn't understand at first, but then I had a startling realization. One that I would had never considered before, but after all that I had experienced, it was a revelation that I was willing to accept.

Alya needs this money.

I changed directions and headed straight towards Alya's house. It was perfect, this whole situation was exactly what I needed so I could keep my best friend and superhero partner in Paris. I intended to make good on my promise that I would do anything in order to let her stay and even if I crossed into a grey area with the money, the people of Paris would understand. After all, I was Ladybug, and Alya was Rena Rouge, we saved Paris countless times, if we had the liberty to tell the people of France what our real-life situations were, they would support my decision.

It only took several minutes for me to reach Alya's house, entering through her bedroom window so that I wouldn't be seen by her parents.

"Ah! Ladybug!" Alya was sitting at a desk doing homework and jumped up, completely startled, "You could have knocked you know!"

I smirked, "Sorry Alya, I just wanted to see you. I got word that your father was laid off work. You were nervous a few days ago because you knew you were moving to a less expensive part of France, right?"

"Ladybug… How did you...?"

I took the duffle bag off my shoulder and threw it into the middle of Alya's room. "You don't need to worry, it's just like I told you before. Paris needs you as Rena Rouge so I knew I would find a way to help after I heard about your situation."

Alya stared at the duffle bag, although her face was not excited or glad. Instead, Alya looked… Scared? Anxious? After a long pause she started to speak, "Ladybug, what is in the bag?"

"Why don't you take a look?" I said sweetly. Perhaps Alya just didn't realize it was actual money inside and that's why she had a mixed reaction.

Carefully, Alya knelt on the floor. As soon as she unzipped the duffle bag, euros spilled out on to the floor, the bag seemed to almost be gushing cash on to Alya's floor. I folded my arms and leaned against the back wall, eager to hear her reaction. She could keep all of her friends at school, maintain her secret identity, and even had enough money to give her parents a much-needed vacation after it was all said and done.

Alya did not jump for joy however. She started to sound colder than she did before, "Ladybug, where did you get this?"

I was perturbed. Why did it matter so much? I knew she wouldn't like hearing that it was stolen money, so I decided to lie to make a better come back to her question, "Crime has been down ever since superheroes arrive in Paris." I said in a matter-of-fact way. "I asked the mayor of Paris for a small loan so that you could fulfill your duties as Rena Rouge."

Alya took some deep breaths. My stomach twisted with the next words she uttered, "How could you do this Ladybug? This isn't how heroes are supposed to act."

"How could I do this?" I rhetorically asked, balling my hands up into fists, "I did it for you! I did it for Paris! People need you Alya! Don't look at me like that and tell me this isn't the best-case scenario for you! You should be happy!"

I could see Alya's jawline clench, "How can I be happy when you're using your authority as Ladybug to take money that isn't yours?"

"Well it isn't my money anymore." I parried, "It's yours, regardless of how you feel about it, you have it now."

Alya began to scoop the money off the floor, "Well I am glad, because I am returning it all to where it belongs. I can't believe you Ladybug!"

I shrieked loud enough for the whole house to rattle with my words "You're so ungrateful!" I didn't even consider if Alya's parents were home, I was too upset and too angry to think rationally.

"What happened to you? How could you possibly think this is okay to do?"

I put my foot on Alya's windowsill, showing her that I was only seconds from leaving. "It's okay if it makes the most good for the most people. That money would have been spent on less important things than the safety and security of the city."

"I don't know why you changed but I hate the new you… Marinette."

I took my foot off the window and turned around slowly, "What did you just say?" I said menacingly.

Alya didn't react at all to my threatening demeanor, she stood tall as if her feet were rooted to the ground, "There is only one person I told about my dad's job Marinette. You."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said, hoping to throw her off.

"Yes, you do. There is only one person I know more about Ladybug and it's my best friend. You can't lie to me Marinette." Alya reached down and held up the duffle bag of money, "And you can't steal either."

 _ **I did it for you!**_

"I did it for you!" I said in unison.

"Well you can stop doing anything for me, I am going to take care of myself from now on." Alya resisted.

I turned back towards the window, "You don't even want to know what I am going to do if you tell anyone about me, got it?" I said, trying to intimidate her.

"We'll see how things pan out." Alya said dismissively.


	9. Chapter 9: Autonomy

The once wonderful feeling I had attending school was replaced with dread as I arrived in front of Collège Françoise Dupont. A dense fog had begun to accumulate around the school building and the surrounding students looked miserable. Alya had ceased all contact with me after she discovered my secret, Master Fu had undoubtedly seen me retain the black suit despite advising against it, Tikki never returned home, and I had even grown more distant with my parents after they grounded me. Little did I know that I would soon push away Adrian Agreste as well.

Amongst the conglomerate of students all filing into the school building, I caught the dour expression of my blonde rival: Chloe Bourgeois. Seeing her morose face took my mind off the downward spiral that my life was taking. Chloe had every advantage imaginable. She was rich, naturally beautiful, and had the pleasure of growing up with Adrian. Despite all of this, she looked down on everyone else in school and always paraded her few but notable talents. She had everything I lacked. I wanted to be what she was but despised who she became.

For the entire school year, she tormented me and was more than willing to drag my name through the mud if it meant that she had a better chance of being with Adrian. I had to overcome a lot but, in the end, I was victorious. I had managed to beat all the odds and go out on a date with the celebrity teen model that all other girls would only dream of being with. For the first time in my entire life, I had something over Chloe. So, I approached her before she even managed to walk up the steps into the hallways of Dupont. I felt like a shark smelling Chloe fresh blood in the water.

"Hey Chloe. You're looking a little down, did something happen?" I asked mockingly.

"I don't have anything to say to you." Chloe said, turning her head away from me.

I wasn't going to let her off that easily, "What was it you said? I never had a _chance_ with Adrian? It's funny how things can change."

Chloe stopped walking. "Shut up." She said, still hiding her face from me.

I expected more from her. She normally had so much to say but she could only manage two words.

"Aww, you poor thing… Spent your whole life around Adrian but never could make a move because you knew he'd turn someone as awful as you down in a heartbeat." My words were a corrosive acid that were slowly melting Chloe's self-esteem. "How does it feel Chloe? How does it feel to be on the other side? Every day you make people feel exactly like you do now."

Chloe raised her arm to wipe her eyes. The fact that she was now in tears gave me a delirious pleasure. I was ready to say even more but someone else spoke up beside me.

"Marinette. That's enough."

I casually turned my head to face the burning green eyes of Adrian Agresete. I should have expected him to show up at the worst possible time.

"Oh, I don't think so Adrian. After all the times she's humiliated me, I think she deserves some sort of repercussion for her actions."

"Is this why you asked me out? To just shove it into Chloe's face. You know that isn't right."

Adrian assumed wrong and it made me livid. He really thought this was the reason? How could he have been so blind to how I've treated him, how I've acted around him, how I've wasted so much time trying to be around him? I decided Adrian was a lost cause.

I lashed out at him, "You know what isn't right? You'd sooner defend Chloe than me! Where were you for the last year that she's been harassing me? You turned a blind eye because she's tricked you. You think she's a friend of yours but she's just a whiny brat that wants everything to go her way."

Adrian turned to Chloe who was still slouching away from the both of us, her hands covered her red face. He turned back to me, "I thought you were better than this Marinette. Please just say you're sorry and we can work through this."

I started to shake my head, "Forget it Adrian. We're done. I don't need you and I especially don't need to apologize to people who don't deserve it." I squinted my eyes at Adrian to burn him, "Luka is hotter than you anyways."

The bell rang, signaling the end of the conversation. Students all around us began to shuffle their feet into the building.

Adrian tried to get the last word in, "We'll talk later, alright Marinette?"

"Don't count on it." I retorted as I made my way to Mrs. Bustier's classroom.

I had to avert my eyes as I walked into the door from the nauseating neon colors that decorated the room. I made my way to my desk and noticed that Alya wasn't there. Instead of sitting by me, I noticed that she sat alone in the back row of the class, giving me a glare as our eyes met.

Looks like we weren't friends after I offered her the opportunity to stay in Paris.

"Pathetic." I muttered to myself.

Mrs. Bustier walked into the class shortly after I did and began class as normal. My mind started to wander as her words became uninterpretable to me. I started to think about my role as Ladybug and if the city would always need someone to save them. With Nevie's help, I could certainly take down Hawkmoth eventually, but I wasn't sure what happened after. Maybe I would go on to become a fashion designer like I always dreamed of but if crime returned to Paris I would have a hard time not putting the spots on again. I wanted to help people but lately it has felt less like a desire and more of a necessity. If I had the power to keep fighting crime, there wasn't a reason to stop at Hawkmoth. If I could be Ladybug forever, there wasn't a reason to keep up my façade as Marinette.

My attention returned to Mrs. Bustier when I heard her say my name, "Time for our daily activity! As always, each of you will compliment someone else before we start today's lecture! Marinette, why don't you start us off today?"

I sat back in my chair as my eyes glazed over everyone else in the room, "I don't have anything good to say about anyone here."

Mrs. Bustier was taken aback by my comment, "What do you mean Marinette!?" The teacher recollected herself quickly, "Ah, you must be joking." She naively assumed.

"I'm not joking."

The room went still. The silence of the room was broken as I sat up from my seat.

"I don't know why I even came here." I threw my backpack on my shoulder and strolled towards the door.

"Hey, wait a minute Marinette!" Mrs. Bustier called to me, but it was too late. I already slammed the door behind me.

I found comfort in the hallways. My behavior had been extreme, but I started to feel estranged in Mrs. Bustier's classroom. Spending hours of my time studying and trying to pass the next exam, trying to squeeze in time spend time with friends and sitting through hours of lectures was not a way that a super heroine should be spending her time.

I walked outside and noticed that the fog completely enveloped the entire city. It would be very difficult to patrol the city with such little visibility, but it seemed the only choice I had. I started to imagine the argument I would get into with my parents. They'd hold their arms over their heads, demanding why I stormed out of class.

I didn't need that sort of hassle now.

"Time to put the spots on Nevie!"

In a flash, I was in my black costume and I started my patrol. Paris felt lifeless today. Not many people were down at the street level, things seemed very quiet and the Eiffel Tower couldn't even be seen through the fog. Not even Hawkmoth wanted to give me any company today.

Several hours passed and the sense of purpose I had after I left school started to wear off. I thought that I was making good changes in my life. I thought that I would be a more decisive person, who was able to put easy solutions aside to help the most amount of people first. It was time that I stopped acting on emotion and looked at the facts. Master Fu told me that Nevie was dangerous and ever since I met her, I almost pushed away everyone I cared about.

There was still one person though. One person who never lost faith in me, despite how horribly I had treated him.

I pulled out my magic yo-yo to call Chat Noir.

"Ladybug! Is it an akuma?" He asked me urgently.

"No, this isn't that serious. I wanted you to come meet me at the front of the Eiffel Tower so we can pick back up where we left off. I should also probably invite Queen Bee and Rena too… I have a lot of explaining to do."

"Less explaining than you think." Chat Noir said with a smile, "Your kwami Tikki already filled me in on what's been happening with you and your suit."

My eyes widened in surprise, "Tikki is with you?" I questioned with baited breath.

"Yes! I'll bring her with me. Don't worry Ladybug I think I understand, just stay strong until I meet you at the tower, alright?"

"Thank you Chat."

I closed the screen of my yo-yo and placed it against my chest. Despite how horribly I had treated him in the last week, he treated me the same. He was still caring, thoughtful and charismatic as ever. He was always the one that was always by my side and someone I could always depend on. After I set everything back to normal, I was going to make sure Chat Noir knew how much he meant to me.

 _ **What are you doing?**_

I audibly replied to the voice in my head, "Sorry. I've decided that black isn't really the look I want to go for. It's over Nevie."

Feeling anxious that she now knew my plan, I was quick to speak my magic words, "It's time to take the spots off Nevie."

I braced myself, preparing to revert back to Marinette, but instead of feeling free, I felt the muscles in my arms and legs begin to stiffen, and then they hardened like cement. Fear set in as I realized that I couldn't move my body. My breathing quickened as I fought against my rebelling body.

"Nevie… Stop this…" I said in a strained voice.

No response. I stood paralyzed in the fog. Helpless, I shut my eyes and was taken to a different time and place.

I was in my bright pink room; all my pictures of Adrian decorated my walls and sunlight passed through my open window. I looked down at my body. I was wearing my old red suit and my hair had reverted to its light blue color. There was something ethereal about the whole experience. I wondered if perhaps I dreamed Nevie up, however, as I looked at myself in the mirror, reality came rushing back.

I looked _insane._ I saw myself with my black suit with longer black hair which was disheveled and dry. A crooked smile seemed to distort the reflection's face further and my blue eyes were substituted for dark black circles. The girl in the mirror seemed to have a convulsive twitch every several seconds. She shared my features but as I stared into the reflection, I couldn't recognize her.

" _ **It didn't have to come to this Ladybug. Everything was going perfectly but as usual, I have to stop you from making another mistake."**_

There was no doubt it was Nevie. Her posh accent was replaced with a more imposing and feral one. I grabbed the frame of the mirror as I spoke. "The only mistake I made was ever trusting you. I should have seen you using me, but you got into my head and you made me do horrible things."

" _ **Take some credit Ladybug.**_ " The black suit Ladybug spoke, " _ **Your choices were your own, and because of your noble sacrifices, Paris will be a safer place."**_

"You've never called me Marinette. Not one time." I reeled back, "You never cared about me, you just wanted to use me, so you could pretend to be Tikki."

" _ **No pretending here. You and I are going to spend every waking hour hunting down Hawkmoth and his akumatized supervillains. The world needs a savior, not another fashion designer.**_ "

"You mean you're going to force me to, right? You're not going to let me to ever transform back?"

" _ **Your friend turned you down, your boyfriend is disinterested, and your parents want to stop you from going outside. You don't want to go back to your old life. Everyone you know ends up betraying you the only person you can trust is yourself."**_

"That isn't true." I retorted, "I have Chat Noir. No matter how terrible things might be right now, he hasn't given up on me and he's coming to save me right now."

" _ **This is why you need my help Ladybug."**_ Nevie cackled, " _ **You have to rely on others saving you. When we were partners, you could handle everything on your own."**_

I hit the mirror with my hand in an attempt to break it, "You're all alone Nevie. That's why you won't ever be Ladybug. Ladybug is someone who inspires the people around her and you don't have anyone."

" _ **Ladybug will be whatever the world needs her to be. I will let you watch as I stop Hawkmoth and save everyone in this city. You're too immature to see that what I am doing, I am doing for the greater good."**_

I began to strike the mirror repeatedly. The fragments began to collapse on the ground and the black suit Ladybug threw her head back with laughter as I did so. My anger turned into anxiety as I tried to expel Nevie from the dream-like room that I was standing in. There were so many times where I could have turned things around, so many times people tried to warn me that something like this would happen, but I didn't listen. As much as I wanted to blame Nevie for manipulating me, the truth was that I wanted to escape my responsibilities as a super hero. I knew Nevie was up to no good since the first second I saw her, but now I had no more agency over the situation. I was helpless. Just as I was about to descend into a full-blown panic, I remembered Master Fu's words.

"Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

I hated myself for letting things get to this point, but I needed to focus on what I could do to stop Nevie before she ended up hurting Chat. As the final piece of the mirror fell and I was left with an empty frame, I opened my eyes and was transported back to my black suit in the dense fog. I felt completely numb and I could feel my body moving on its own. Nevie had complete control over my movement and I watched through her eyes as she stood before Chat Noir, Rena Rouge and Queen Bee.

Chat was the first to speak, "Ladybug, are you alright?"

I felt my eyes stare directly at Chat Noir, "So. You already know all about the kwami in my earrings, don't you?" Nevie asked, articulating herself using my mouth.

"Yes, Tikki has already told me what's been happening, we have to get her out before-"

Chat didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, I grabbed my yo-yo and threw it towards Chat Noir's feet, the drawstring wrapped around his ankles and with one more pull, he fell to the ground.

Rena Rouge and Queen Bee readied their own weapons. In Rena's hand, a flute and in Queen Bee's hand, a top. Everyone had caught on to the situation. Nevie intended to fight the heroes three on one in order to keep her identity a secret. I tried to regain control of my movement, but it was hopeless, Nevie had too much control over my body. I silently prayed.

 _Please stop me Chat Noir. You're the only one who can._


	10. Chapter 10: A Better Place

The fight between myself and the three heroes was brutal. Far more violent and messy than my fights with Hawkmoth's supervillains. Rena Rouge and Queen Bee were doing their best to hold me down, but they didn't realize that Nevie's power made me physically stronger than normal. Nevie was slowly but surely overpowering them and I could do nothing but watch it happen through my own eyes. The thick fog made it easy for each of my attackers to become isolated. Nevie chose to single out Queen Bee first.

The yellow superhero was exhausted. The lines on her face showed me how much she had to exert herself to keep herself standing. "I really looked up to you Ladybug. I never thought that I would have to be the one to get you to remember who you are." She panted.

"People change Queen Bee. I expected out of everyone you'd understand that." I could feel my mouth moving, but the words being spoken weren't my own, "I can defeat supervillains faster than ever before, I can now save Paris. Who are you to judge me for my actions?"

Queen Bee placed her magic top on the ground, letting it spin as fast as possible. "Being a hero isn't just about fighting. It's about making people feel safe." Queen Bee delicately stepped on her top to ride it. "You were the one to teach me that. You're too good to let a little black ladybug ruin everything we've been working towards."

Out from the fog, Rena Rouge revealed herself and pushed Queen Bee forward, allowing her to move at full tilt to collide with me. Unfortunately for the queen, my agility overcame the teamwork between her and Rena. Queen Bee bended her knees as she reached her terminal velocity. Nevie used my body to react quickly, beginning to jump over the blonde while simultaneously reaching out towards her hairband, the source of Queen Bee's super powers. In one fluid motion, I gripped the bee miraculous tightly in my right hand as my legs passed over Queen Bee's head. In an instant, the yellow and black suit faded, being replaced with Chloe Bourgeois' trademark yellow jacket and white jean capris. Along with her attire, the top that the heroine was riding on had also disappeared and Chloe hit the ground with her shoulder. She was moving so quickly, she started to roll for several feet until she finally reached a full stop.

A kwami flew out of the hairband that I held in my hand. She had the form of a cute little bumble bee, who decisively flew towards her partner.

"Chloe, are you alright!?" She buzzed.

I dropped the hairband on the ground, completely indifferent to its importance. My head moved so I could watch in horror as Nevie stared down Rena Rouge. My right hand slowly lifted itself and my fingers all spread out wide, assuming the pose for my superpower, Lucky Break.

"You should have taken the money Rena. You still could have been useful but instead you chose to leave the people who needed you most."

Rena Rouge looked calm, smug even. "I didn't tell anyone about who you really are Ladybug. I didn't because I expect you to keep being a superhero for a very long time. With or without me, I know she'll do the right thing. Even if I lose this fight here and now, Ladybug always finds a way to set things back to normal." Rena looked down to hold her necklace in her hand, "I guess that's why we have things called miraculouses. We're supposed to save the day no matter how bad things get, we'll always find a way."

"Expecting to improve without sacrifice is naïve. Let's see how you'll miraculously get out of _this!_ " I lunged forward towards Alya and stuck my right hand out to claw at her. To both Nevie and I's surprise, my fingers passed through her body, it took me a moment to register what I was even seeing. Rena Rouge had created an illusion of herself and used it as bait to catch me unaware. Before Nevie could interpret what was happening, Rena had already snuck up behind me. Rena Rouge lifted her flute over my head, pulled her body close to mine and began to squeeze my chest and arms, using the flute for leverage.

I could feel my body contorting against the pressure as Alya's body squeezed my back and her magical flute squeezing my torso. Unable to control my movements, I started to panic for my best friend. She was smart to catch Nevie off-guard, but she still lacked the superpowered strength that I had.

Rena cried out for Chat Noir and like clockwork, Chat Noir's green eyes protruded from the mist, moving quickly towards me. I didn't have the capability to smile, but if I could I would have a wide grin on my face. Nevie's plan had failed. All Chat had to do now was to take my earrings off and Nevie wouldn't have any more control over my body. Kwamis were magical creatures, but without a human body supporting them, they were virtually harmless.

The happy ending that I dreamed up never came to fruition. Desperation set in as Nevie finally broke the hold that Rena had over her. Chat Noir was only an arms-length away from putting an ending the battle, but my leg lifted to plant itself firmly into the pit of Chat's stomach. Nevie then swiveled around to slam my elbow into the side of Rena Rouge's head, knocking her to the ground just as she did with Chloe.

Chat Noir weakly rested a hand on his solar plexus. He writhed in pain as he called out to Alya, "Rena Rouge, you have to get out of here before you transform back." He croaked, "Let me handle this."

I wanted to look at Rena to assess the injury she just received to her crown, but Nevie made me focus my attention towards Chat Noir. I could only listen to Alya slowly shuffling away from me as Chat stood tall as the last person standing from Nevie's onslaught.

"Chat Noir." I humed, "You wanted to know something about my personal life, right? It's all a waste of time. Nothing is more important than stopping Hawkmoth. Focusing on anything else means that more people could potentially get hurt." Nevie explained solemnly. "You're young, you haven't realized the full weight of your responsibilities. You don't understand that it takes complete devotion to change the world."

Chat leaned against his magic pole, using it like a cane, "You sure like to talk." He said snickering, "Ladybug never used to talk this much, she cared too much about keeping the rest of us out of harm's way. That's why you'll never be Ladybug, whoever you are."

I could feel myself begin to seize up after Chat had made his comment. I was surprised myself to see Nevie have such a visceral reaction from a relatively tame insult.

"What did you just say?" Nevie growled.

"You aren't Ladybug." Chat replied, resting both of his hands on top of his blonde hair, "Anyone who really knows her can see right through you. You don't have her charm, her compassion or her warmness. The whole reason you found out her identity and hurt Tikki was to become Ladybug." Chat shook his head, making a 'tsk' 'tsk' noise, "I am surprised that you think people are going to buy your act. How could anyone believe in someone who hurts their own friends?"

Nevie bared my teeth as she burst into a maniacal rage. I tried to concentrate as hard as I could to prevent Chat Noir getting hurt. I focused all my attention to one part of my body at a time, but no matter how much I struggled, Nevie persisted in pummeling Chat Noir, again and again. Chat's completion was almost always flawless, but within the dense fog, his expression was made imperfect by the bruises that Nevie gave him.

"I'm more than Ladybug! I'm better than her! You think you know me!? You only know what that old man has told you!" I was practically roaring. Any more yelling and I would have my vocal chords damaged.

More alarming than Nevie's aggression was Chat Noir's passiveness. I hit him repeatedly, but he kept on recovering and standing up straight. I couldn't understand why he wasn't fighting back. He was the only chance I had to escape this nightmare, but he was allowing himself to get severely injured in the process. Seeing him this way made me want to cry. Since the first time I met him, he has done nothing but to help and support me. I wished I could have had the same faith in him now when I left Tikki with Master Fu. I knew Chat Noir was a lot of things but seeing him not lift a finger as he lived through excruciating pain was something I didn't think anyone was capable of.

After several minutes, Nevie seemed to calm down, allowing Chat to drop to his knees to catch his breath, while my body still stood tall, "It doesn't matter what you think I suppose." Nevie said, twirling my hair with my finger, "You won't be around for much longer. I will be the one and only superhero this city has."

"Ladybug... If you're in there… I must let you know something…" Chat uttered, almost falling completely over before propping himself up with his right arm, "I always was making jokes because I wasn't exactly sure how to express myself properly." Chat Noir managed a smile, "I've actually been pretty sheltered most of my life believe it or not, I am unsure if this is the best way to put it…"

"Lucky break."

Nevie held my palm out towards Chat, ready to forcibly remove his costume and powers in five short seconds. I was a ghost living in a shell of what used to be my own body, yet I wanted Chat to run. After Nevie took away his magic, there was no telling what she would do to him. I wanted nothing more than to surrender to Nevie and curl up into a ball, but Chat Noir continued speaking and captivated me with his sincerity.

"I truly love you Ladybug. That's why I can't bring myself to hurt you, even now… I just thought you should know."

I made a fist with my hand and from Chat's ring emerged a cat-kwami, he had a large head and his green eyes mirrored his owner's. I intended to never find out who Chat Noir was behind the mask, I never thought it was something that could have ended up hurting him, so I buried my own curiosity, but now that pit of urgency was filled in with regret that we hadn't revealed ourselves sooner.

"A-A-Adrian?" I said in a quiet whisper.

The boy stood up, wearing a white button-down shirt with sleeves rolled up above his elbow and a black shirt underneath. A strange mixture of emotions started to overwhelm me: joy, guilt, shock, and affection all raged through me.

"You know me Ladybug?" Adrian asked, looking groggy as he stood up straight.

"Yes Adrian, I-I… I'm talking…" The revelation hit me hard. Seeing Adrian's face was enough for me to regain control for a few fleeting moments. I tried to bring my hands up to remove my earrings, but my hands only shook in response. Nevie was fighting just as hard as I was, it was like someone was grabbing my wrists and pulling me into the ground. "Adrian, take my Miraculous now!" I managed to get out before Nevie began to prohibit my speech once again.

Adrian was so hurt he had trouble moving, "But Ladybug if I do that then…"

He didn't need to finish his sentence, I already knew what he was going to say. If he took off my earrings, then he would know who I was. My secret life was something I thought I keep to myself for my entire life, but not anymore. Meeting Nevie lead to a lot of bad things, but I could at least be grateful that she showed me that the only way I could have the life that I wanted, I needed to let people in. If Adrian, Alya and even Chloe knew the real me, he wouldn't have allowed the situation to escalate any further. It was time for me to put my cards on the table. I closed my eyes and used what little strength I had to choke out two more words.

"Do it."

I lost all feeling in my body. Nevie had taken over once again and forcibly opened my eyes for me. My heart was racing so quickly I couldn't fully comprehend what was happening in one short glimpse, but Adrian already had his hands on my ears, and as Nevie began to push him away, he pulled them off, exposing both Nevie and myself.

A rapturous fatigue shot through my body as I felt the strain of the last several days. Without any more magic to sustain me, I felt limp. I was about to completely collapse before Adrian rushed to wrap me in his arms.

I let out a sniffle, "Adrian, it's really you, right?"

Adrian lifted his shirt slightly, enough to show me a scar of the injury he received when I first put on the black suit, "It's me Marinette. I am so glad that you're alright, for a second there I thought we would never talk like this again."

I wiped my eyes on Adrian's shoulder, "I'm so sorry I don't even know where to begin… I treated you so terribly, as both of my identities. I didn't mean-"

Adrian placed a hand on my head, "It wasn't the real you Marinette. After spending so much time with you, I would know." He said with a wink.

I couldn't hold back a teary-eyed laugh. Without a solid idea of how to think or feel, I indulged myself to take the same familiar tone I took with Chat Noir, "You aren't disappointed right? You know, that I'm Ladybug and not someone else?"

Adrian put his hands on both of my cheeks and leaned forward for us to share a deep kiss. If talking to him was enough to turn my brain into mush, kissing Adrian made me feel like I was ready to entirely melt through his hands. I forgot about the petrifying experience of Nevie taking control of my body, when I was with Adrian, I could only see a bright and happy future.

"How's that for an answer?" Adrian smirked.

"Aww, come on Chat. I was really enjoying my time with Adrian. Can't I have a little more time with him?" I teased.

The fog began to part enough for me to make out Alya and Chloe walking towards the two of us, with Chloe's arm around Alya's shoulder to help her walk. While they both would see hospitals later today, they ignored their injuries to share in Adrian's hug.

Chloe let out a sigh, "Marinette, I know you don't want to talk to me right now, but I have to apologize, if I knew what you were going through then I would have never said…" Chloe eyed Adrian, "Well, you know what I said."

I wanted to answer, but Alya was the next to speak, "I can't believe it girl! You fought against the kwami of envy and you won! I don't think anyone has ever done that before. This should definitely put you in the superhero hall-of-fame or something!"

"Hey, speaking of which, where did that black ladybug go?" Adrian wondered.

"She's gone." I concluded, "But it doesn't matter. Even if she did come back, I have you three to count on." My voice started to break down as I began to tear up more as I thought of the people around me.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be missing Nevie." Adrian said with a shrug, "Red is the new black after all."

Chloe put her palm into her face, "Adrian I didn't know how you could be as lame as Chat Noir until this moment."

I giggled, "I have to say, I am happy that you know now… About me and who I really am." I turned towards Alya, "Even if you're only going to be here for just one more day, telling you makes me feel like a weight has been lifted off me."

My best friend squeezed me tighter, "Marinette! I am so happy to hear you say that!" She squealed, "I am broken up about leaving too, but now that I think about it, I don't think it'll be that bad. Don't worry about me girl, I'll find my way back here from time to time." Alya eyed Adrian suspiciously, "If for no other reason to check up on you and your new boyfriend, don't think that I missed out on what you two just did."

Adrian and I exchanged glances, both of us flaring up in a shade of red. It looked like both of us have had similar feelings towards the other for a long time. I felt silly for not realizing the similarities between Chat and Adrian earlier.

Saving us from an even longer awkward pause, Chloe cut in, "So, are you going to get that stupid dye out of your hair or what?"

"Yeah… I don't really think it suits me." I admitted, "Having Nevie in my head really made me do some weird things, I just hope I can make it up to my parents and everyone at school after acting the way that I have."

"Just say you were going through a phase!" Alya suggested.

"They'll understand Marinette, you were going through a rough patch and now you're all better. Don't give it another thought." Adrian said reassuringly, "They're all probably just worried like we were."

"You think so Adrian?" I asked.

He nodded, "Yeah. I do, and if anything goes wrong, I'll always stay with you."

"Oh! Me too of course!" Chloe blurted, resting her hand on my shoulder, "Look, I know how I treated you before, but I am changing! Honest!"

Alya took my other shoulder, "You can count on me Marinette, we're besties after all, it's what we do."

"You guys…" I started, tears already starting to move down my face, "Could we hug for a while longer? I want to be with you three all day."


	11. Author's Note

Let me start off by apologizing to each of you for such late uploads. I thought I could crank out two chapters a week but a mixture of a lack of motivation and real-life business I needed to take care of really got me off-track. I want to thank everyone who has been following and favoriting after every chapter I put out and helped me push through many mental blocks in order to finally see this story to its completion. With that being said, I use my fanfiction account in order to help myself become a stronger writer, so if you have any constructive criticism please put up a review so I know what I can improve on for next time.

As a side note, it was pretty surreal watching 'reverser' where a guy embarrassed about his fanfiction about Ladybug gets akumatized… Kinda makes me wonder if Hawkmoth is going to send one of his butterflies my way…

As always, I appreciate you all for reading and I hope I'll get a chance to do all of this again soon.

-Macaroy


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